Bressani still on top of Melges 24 rivals at Key West

by Joy Dunigan - U.S. Melges 24 Class Association on 22 Jan 2009
Cold temperatures and brisk winds challenged the Melges 24 fleet in Key West today including Lorenzo Bressani helming for Lorenzo Santini (Civitanova Marc, Italy) on ITA-715 Uka Uka Racing hanging on to the lead.

In second overall is Chris Rast helming for 2008 World Ranking Champion owner Franco Rossini (Lugano, Switzerland)on SUI-621 Blu Moon and moving into third overall is Gabrio Zandona helming for Giovanni Maspero (Como, Italy) on ITA-777 Joe Fly.

With an impressive 1-1-5-1-1-2 score line, one has to admit that Bressani is going to be tough to beat, even if it is early in the game. Most would not even begin to anticipate a winner but in the words of USMCA President Travis Weisleder USA-605 X, 'Those guys are really good and they are really fast.

There are actually several boats out here that have the same speed, but the Italians just aren't making any mistakes.'
The first race of the day brought on cool temperatures and heavy air at 17-19 mph. It was down right cold, despite the sporadic moments of sunshine. The first start encountered a shift immediately, steering the fleet to the left. It took some time, but Riccardo Simoneschi (Genova, Italy) on ITA-783 Giacomel Audi found his way up the right side of the course and rounding the top mark in first. Three times around Simoneschi made it look like he had the win secured, but then there was Bressani cooking up some speed down the right side and stole the lead in the last few seconds of the race. Bressani blasted the finish line leaving Simoneschi to finish in second and John Kolius (La Porte, Tx.) on USA-776 KO Sailing to finish for third.

Race two of the day brought out the best in Zandona as from the very get go, he was out front and stayed out front. Leg-by-leg of the race, he pulled further and further away from the fleet. His closest contention was Rast and Kolius, but even for them Zandona's momentum was too incredible to overtake.

The second race was a ten degree shift in course bearing with the left side favored. Bressani made an honest attempt to get close to Zandona, but his efforts were futile. Bressani took second, while Vince Brun (San Diego, Calif.) on USA-553 Bailout worked his way up into a great race finishing third.

With six races completed and four races to go, Bressani holds an impeccable lead over Rast in second by an amazing 12 points. In third overall is Zandona, six points back.

TOP TEN RESULTS (After six races)
1.) Lorenzo Bressani/Lorenzo Santini, Uka Uka Racing; 1-1-5-1-1-2 = 11
2.) Chris Rast/Franco Rossini, Blu Moon; 4-2-2-2-7-6 = 23
4.) Gabrio Zandona/Giovanni Maspero, Joe Fly; 10-3-3-4-8-1 = 29
4.) Alan Field, WTF; 13-4-1-6-4-8 = 36
5.) Riccardo Simoneschi, Giacomel Audi; 6-5-4-3-2-18 = 38
6.) Vince Brun, Bailout; 2-6-14-5-9-3 = 39
7.) John Kolius, KO Sailing; 3-7-9-12-3-5 = 39
8.) Brian Porter, Full Throttle; 5-8-8-7-10-4 = 42
9.) Bruce Ayres, Monsoon; 7-12-15-8-6-7 = 55
10.) Kyle Vowels; One Sixty; 8-13-11-10-12-12 = 66

Full results: http://www.premiere-racing.com/09_KW_Results/kw09_div2_series.htm

CORINTHIAN HEAT

Bruce Ayres (Newport Beach, Calif.) on USA-747 Monsoon still maintains the lead for the Corinthian Melges 24 division, however Loren Colehan (Santa Barbara, Calif.) USA-556 Lounge Act really put the pedal down today as he challenged Ayres on more than one occasion. The first race was a little tougher for Colehan, however the two managed top ten finishes in the second race of the day.

1.) Bruce Ayres, Monsoon
2.) Loren Colehan, Lounge Act
3.) Gary Schwarting, Obsession
4.) Peter Cucci, El Matador

U.S. Melges 24 Class Association (USMCA) - http://www.usmelges24.com/