Charleston Race Week Melges 20 day 1 - Four great races

by Joy Dunigan on 21 Apr 2012 Day one of racing for the Melges 20 class at Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week in Charleston, SC opened under cloudy skies and light, shifty breezes.

As the day progressed, the breeze filled in nicely and the sun made an appearance as PRO Hank Stuart fired off four great races for the 30-strong Audi Melges 20 fleet. Challenging conditions and classic Charleston current put teams to the ultimate test, but it was defending champion Michael Kiss aboard Bacio who delivered the strongest performance, awarding him a beautiful nine point lead over second place Travis Weisleder on Layline Race Team.

Russell Lucas on Shimmer is eight points behind Weisleder in third place.

Races one, two and three saw Kiss and Weisleder constantly battling back and forth for the lead. The two fought tirelessly from start to finish on each race, occasionally swapping positions, but it was Kiss that managed to edge out Weisleder at the finish line.

The last of Stuart’s perfect and well-prescribed short and sweet races went to Mark Plaxton’s INTAC. Kiss remained consistent hanging in for second while Lucas took a dramatic third just ahead of Paul Reilly’s Red Sky in fourth. Geoff Pierini on Sicktrix 20 rounded out the top five.

Racing continues on Saturday as conditions are expected to be a little bit of the same as Friday with rainy conditions forecasted late in the afternoon into early Sunday.

Top Ten Results (After Four Races)

1. Michael Kiss, Bacio; 1-1-12 = 5
2. Travis Weisleder, Layline Race Team; 2-2-2-8 = 14
3. Russell Lucas, Shimmer; 9-7-3-3 = 22
4. Tony Tabb, Elevation Racing; 3-10-6-10 = 29
5. Rob Wilber, Cinghiale; 5-4-14-7 = 30
6. Sid Gorham, Funner; 11-9-4-9 = 33
7. Paul Reilly, Red Sky; 20-3-8-4 = 35
8. John Arendshorst, Blink 20/20; 13-17-10-6 = 46
9. Pat Eudy, Big Booty; 18-11-5-13 = 47
10. Geoff Pierini, Sicktrix 20; 23-8-13-5 = 49

Full results here

Charleston Race Week website