Fourth in the same class last year at just over one year since he started grand prix big boat sailing, Italian Mauro Gestri and crew lead Abanca ORC Class 0 into the last day of 44th Copa del Rey Mapfre after solid day counting two second places. After seven races, Gestri’s Vudu will carry a nine points margin into the final day.
“It was tough and intense today but I enjoyed it.” Gestri smiled on the ace dock at the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP), “We had two seconds and are trying to keep the best until last. We are improving a lot which is good considering we only started two years ago.
We have been fine tuning the boat we did a lot a work in the winter. And I am getting better, I am improving – they tell me ! It is not what you do right it is what you do wrong and if you make less mistakes than the others you do well. We had a small problem with the spinnaker. And for sure I am handling the boat a lot better this year. We are more comfortable. If we win tomorrow it will be because we deserve it, but I am saying nothing. I cross my fingers.”
Abanca ORC 0 – Day 4 – 44th Copa del Rey Mapfre © María Muiña / Copa del Rey Mapfre
The Spanish Navy’s Hispania won the first race – normal helm the King of Spain was absent on official duties in South America today – but they were not so good off the start line in the second contest, finishing ninth to drop to fourth overall.
Mauro Dottori’s Caballo Loco led the second race from the start line, the Brazilian flagged TP52 recoding their first race win of the regatta.
Dottori said, “We sailed well, the wind was a little bit more today and the boat is better when there is some more wind. We had a very good start in the middle of the line, at full speed and that was it really. Our friend Vudu was to leeward and we could hold them. Really we have been first across the finish line four times but our rating is not so good being in 52 SUPER SERIES class trim. But we are here to enjoy ourselves, I have my two sons racing, I have friends from here. So it is a fun week.”
In Sail Racing ORC Class A double world champions Rán twice got the better of their Estonian rivals on Nola, winning twice – by 32 and 23 seconds – to lead into the last day by a single point. Sharper, better starting was one of the key reasons for the Rán victories today as helm Paul Wilcox noted,
“I think we made an improvement to out starting, we did some work on our starting procedure, to our launch, we are working hard on our acceleration, they are very tweaky little boats in a good way – they reward good trimming and being accurate with the rudder. We did a good job today having done some drills before the race, that made a difference getting off the start. The races were good fun, it is always fun when you are out in front and today there was a little more wind than yesterday.”
Wilcox is steering this week in place of owner Niklas Zennström who is recovering from a knee injury.
One of the biggest leads at the regatta now is that of Teatro Soho San Miguel in Uber ORC Class B. Javier Banderas XR-41 team won one race and took third to lead by 14.5pts.
Ángel Medina, trimmer for the Teatro del Soho San Miguel, said: “Tomorrow will be a special day, because as well as going out to secure another potential victory, we’ll be marking a very special occasion: tomorrow, 8 August, we’ll be celebrating the day our tactician, Luis Doreste, won his first Olympic medal, and that’s a source of great pride for us.”
The leaderboard for Azulmarino ORC Class C remains super tight, even now every points carries a 1.5 times multiplier. A win and a fourth today gives Hendrik Brandis’s Earlybird a two points lead ahead of Saturday’s two race finale.
On his return to the RCNP Manu Weiller, the Mallorcan tactician for Earlybird, commented: “The good thing about today is that it looked like a typical day in Palma, but it wasn’t. I don’t think anyone expected us to go to the right in the first race; that’s where we managed to make the most of it and win. It’s a shame about the second race, because we were in the lead at the first mark and had a problem on the downwind leg, but never mind. To be honest, I thought the result was going to be worse as we crossed the line. Reaching the final day with options still open to win was the aim for the whole week, and we’ve achieved that.”
The ClubSwan 42 class sees Pedro Vaquer’s Nadir firmly in control even if their string of firsts was today replaced by a pai of second places. They are 5.5pts ahead.
Owner Pedro Vaquer asserted “In this fleet, the moment you lose your bearings, five boats will overtake you. You have to be very careful and stay fully focused. Even with the lead we’ve got, it’s not in the bag yet. You have to bear in mind that Máximo was ORC world champion; he’s got a very good crew and a tactician who’s one of the best in Italy. You can lose your focus in the blink of an eye. But then again, we also say that if our worst result so far has been two second-place finishes, then if we manage two second-place finishes tomorrow, we’ll win.”
And just as Nadir is the established on form team in the one-design class, so too in the Baleària Women’s Cup it is the home team representing the RCNP which is a step ahead, skipper María Bover summed up: “Today we’ve been spot on with our manoeuvres and starts, and we’ve had very few mishaps, so we’ve been able to stay up there, but we don’t want to get complacent because the teams are very strong. Tomorrow there are still a few more Round Robin races to go, and then the top six teams go through to the final series, where the points are worth double. We can’t afford to get complacent.”
Racing finishes Saturday.
by Copa del Rey MAPFRE
