Copa del Rey Mapfre - Azzurra claims race win in Palma

by Azzurra Sailing Team on 9 Aug 2014 Azzurra wins the second race of the day at the Copa del Rey Mapfre with determination, making up for the first race where she fought her way back from a difficult situation to place fourth. Tomorrow will see the last two races in the 33rd Copa del Rey. The current results see Quantum in the lead, followed by Ran. Azzurra is currently placed third.

The intense heat in Palma today made for thermal breezes at speeds up to 14 knots during the second race, a race that Azzurra dominated throughout from her perfect start off the pin to the finish.

In the first race Azzurra started off free and upwind from the rest of the fleet, avoiding the 'traffic' off the pin. But she was slow in the first few minutes, a problem which has already occurred and which the team is working to find the solution for. Azzurra soon found herself caught in the group, fighting hard not to loose ground. The crew never gave up and managed to finish fourth rolling Gladiator at the end. Ran won with a spectacular photo finish finale where she inched out Quantum on the finish line. Phoenix placed third.

The second race saw the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s boat start in the lead, closely followed by Quantum and Ran. In the second upwind leg Phoenix moved up to second place thanks to a puff of wind starboard, but right as she was about to finish second Ran slipped by. The final results: Azzurra, Ran, Phoenix and Quantum in the top four slots, followed by the rest of the fleet.

With just two races to go, the provisional results of the 33rd Copa del Rey Mapfre, third event of the Barclays 52 Super Series, see Quantum three points ahead of Ran and eight points ahead of Azzurra. Tomorrow’s start for the 52 Super Series is scheduled for 13:10 as usual. Virtual Eye here.

Guillermo Parada, skipper: 'We are still trying to find a solution for the boat’s speed problems. These problems are forcing us to take risks that don’t allow us to fully concentrate during the racing. When you take risks sometimes you get away with it, but you can also make mistakes. At the same time an overly conservative approach usually isn’t very effective either. At the end of the day we weren’t consistent enough to place first. Right now we shouldn’t be thinking about the Copa del Rey but about a further improvement for the end of the season and winning the Barclays 52 Super Series. We will start again from the result we get here in Palma; today the battle between Quantum and Ran worked to our favour. As we say here in Argentina, troubled waters, fisherman's gain. In the second race we got a good start off the pin, and could later sail freely and in control over the rest of the fleet.'

Vasco Vascotto, tactician: 'In the first race we started off well, but slowed down in the next few minutes and this compromised our result. We had to go right, which is certainly not the best position here in Palma. We have to get to the bottom of this speed problem and resolve it, but at any rate we as a crew never gave up. It may seem a paradox, but we worked better when we fought hard and placed fourth than in the second race when we placed first after an excellent start off the pin. We were ahead on the first cross and after that everything was relatively easy.'

Standings Barclays 52 Super Series - Copa del Rey Mapfre

Overall after nine races
1 Quantum Racing, USA, (Doug De Vos USA) (2,1,2,2,6,1,2,2,4) 22 p.
2 Rán Racing, SWE, (Niklas Zennström SWE) (1,7,6,3,1,3,1,1,2) 25 p.?
3 Azzurra, ITA, (Alberto Roemmers ARG) (3,5,4,1,5,2,5,4,1) 30 p.?
4 ?Phoenix, BRA, (Eduardo de Souza Ramos BRA) (6,3,3,6,2,5,3,3) 34 p.?
5 Gladiator, GBR, (Tony Langley GBR) (DNF/8,2,1,5,3,4,5,7) 39 p.
6 Paprec, FRA, (Jean Luc Petithugenin FRA) (4,6,5,4,4,7,7,6) 49 p.?
7 Provezza 7, TUR, (Ergin Imre TUR) (5,4,DNF/8,DNS/8,7,6,6,5) 56p.