Azzurra takes second in Barclays 52 Super Series 2014

by Azzurra Sailing Team on 22 Sep 2014 Azzurra clinches second place in both the Zenith Royal Cup Marina Ibiza and the overall Barclays 52 Super Series 2014 circuit. The flag-bearing of Yacht Club Costa Smeralda congratulates the winner, Quantum Racing.

After yesterday's lull, the last two races of the season were of particular importance in order to define the leaderboard of the Ibiza event as well of the entire season. The race committee, led by Maria Torrijo, was able to give two starts today, under very light and unstable wind conditions. Azzurra kept Ran constantly under control in order to defend her second place in both the Barclays 52 Super Series as well as the Zenith Royal Cup.

The first race, counting towards Bart's Bash, was claimed by Quantum and mathematically awarded them the championship title. Azzurra, fourth, controlled Ran that came in seventh. The second race saw the Swedish team claim victory, but that wouldn't be sufficient: Azzurra took third and wisely held on to her advantage over Ran.
The Zenith Royal Cup Marina Ibiza comes to an end with the same podium as the overall championship: Quantum, Azzurra and Ran.

The first regatta of the next year will be in Valencia, from May 18th to 23rd, with a big fleet - no less than 12 and 15 boats are expected - including nine new boats, one of which is the 2015-generation Azzurra, currently under construction.

Pablo Roemmers, owner: 'It has been a good year. We finished second overall and we can't complain about that. Quantum sailed very well, very consistently throughout the year while we were under attack by Ran that came to Ibiza with a four-point advantage. We managed to neutralize them and hold on to our second place. We now look forward to next year.'

Riccardo Bonadeo, Commodore of Yacht Club Costa Smeralda: 'Congratulations to the winning team, Quantum Racing, and its owner Doug DeVos, that have shown they deserved the title. I would like to thank all those who continue to make us proud of the accomplishments of Azzurra, renewing the spirit with which Azzurra started more than thirty years ago. Our club member Alberto Roemmers and his sons, passionate owners, together with the entire crew, continue to make us live great emotions. The season ends with a second place that satisfies us, next year's program has been confirmed with the new boat currently under construction. Our goal is to get back on the top step of the podium, the way we did in the 2012 edition of the 52 Super Series.'

Guillermo Parada, skipper of Azzurra, comments on the regatta, the current season and the future: 'It has been a tough season, with many ups and downs, but we finish on a positive note after another good day on the water, with difficult conditions. We managed to keep our adversaries where we wanted and consolidated our second place in the regatta and the championship. That was our goal when we got out on the water. We are satisfied in that aspect and we would like to congratulate Quantum that, as usual, had a very solid season, better than ours. That's precisely where we will focus on next year.'

'We think that in the final part of the season we made substantial technical progress and we had very good boat speed, in particular under light-air conditions. This makes us optimistic on the future and provides us with very useful information to work upon during the construction of our new boat this winter. We now need a bit of time in order to assess all the data, see where we can improve and focus on those areas. We want to take full advantage of the winter break and start the next season with the best preparation possible.'

Tactician Vasco Vascotto stated: 'This week in Ibiza was a good one, as we finally solved some of the speed problems that had made the season more difficult than expected. This satisfies us very much in view of the future, since it would be useless to rely on a new boat without having fully solved the issues that prevented us from reaching the level of Quantum, winner for the past two years and without any doubt the reference team. We are happy with our second place, it means our high level is confirmed, but we have the duty to improve quickly, we want to reconquer the peak of the 52 Super Series, the way it was three years ago. This forms part of the just expectations of the owner, the YCCS and ourselves.'

Zenith Royal Cup Marina Ibiza – Overall results after eight races
1 Quantum Racing, USA, (Doug De Vos USA) (1,2,3,2,1,6,1,7) 23pts
2 Azzurra, ITA, (Alberto Roemmers ARG) (3,5,2,1,6,2,4,3) 26pts
3 Rán Racing, SWE, (Niklas Zennström SWE) (2,4,4,4,5,7,7,1) 34pts
4 Sled, USA, (Takashi Okura JPN) (4,1,6,3,4,DNF/9,3,6) 36pts
5 Gaastra Pro, NED (Marc Blees NED) (6,6,1,8,2,5,6,4) 38pts
6 Provezza 7, TUR, (Ergin Imre TUR) (7,3,7,6,7,3,5,2) 40pts
7 Gladiator, GBR, (Tony Langley GBR) (5,7,8,5,3,4,8,5) 45pts
8 Phoenix, BRA, (Eduardo de Souza Ramos BRA) (8,8,5,7,8,1,2,8) 47pts

2014 Barclays 52 Super Series - Overall results
1. Quantum Racing, USA, (Doug DeVos USA), 81 points
2. Azzurra, ITA, (Alberto Roemmers ARG), 96 points
3. Rán Racing, SWE, (Niklas Zennström SWE), 100 points
4. Phoenix, BRA, (Eduardo de Souza Ramos BRA), 124 points
5. Gladiator, GBR, (Tony Langley GBR), 147 points
6. Provezza 7, TUR, (Ergin Imre TUR), 170 points

2015 Calendar 52 Super Series
18 to 23 May: Valencia (Spain)
8 to 13 June: Porto Cervo (Italy, Sardinia)
13 to 18 July: Puerto Portals (Spain, Mallorca)
3 to 8 August: Palma de Mallorca (Spain)
15 to 20 September: Cascais (Portugal)

Azzurra
Pablo Roemmers - Owner
Guillermo Parada - Skipper
Vasco Vascotto - Tactician
Bruno Zirilli - Navigator
Paul Westlake - Mainsail
Mariano Caputo - Bowman
Juan Pablo Marcos - Midbow
David Vera - Pitman
Maciel Cichetti - Trimmer
Grant Loretz - Trimmer
Mariano Parada - Trimmer
Gabriel Marino - Grinder
Alejandro Colla – Grinder
Pedro Rossi - Floater
Boat Captain: Pedro Rossi
Coach: Guillermo Baquerizas
Coach: Rod Davis