Sardinia Cup - Azzurra takes the day

by Giuliano Luzzatto on 16 Jun 2012 In the 2012 Audi Sardinia Cup, Azzurra Sailing Team finishes the day's three races ahead of Quantum with an emphatic victory in the last race. After scoring a second, a fourth and a bullet, Azzurra closes in on the top of leaderboard, a mere two points back. Italy claims also second place at the Audi Sardinia Cup, with Soto 40 Alegre that doesn't succeed in repeating yesterday's two bullets.

Guillermo Parada, skipper: 'It was a day anything but relaxing. In these conditions of light breezes one's concentration had to be maximum whether you are leading or trailing in the race, one small shift is enough and the situation turns around swiftly. However, it was a day that saw us come out as the best team; we gained one point on Quantum, we are happy and motivated to fight until the very last day of racing.'

Vasco Vascotto, strategist: 'We really needed that victory in the last race! I think we deserved it, we started well and we maintained our lead. Our fight is against everybody but Quantum in particular because the one that starts in front of the other can then manage the race in their favor. We had two excellent starts and in the first race victory slipped through our hands because Gladiator, that proved to be very strong in light winds, covered and rolled us close to the finish line. It's not easy to have a match race and at the same time not let the trailing boats get away because they are there, waiting for us to 'massacre each other'.'

Bruno Zirilli, navigator: 'It was a good day with races that were anything but easy. We are happy with the result and we have already learned valuable lessons from some slight errors we committed previously.'

Tomorrow the schedule calls for a coastal race with a scoring coefficient of Azzurra website