Mapfre PalmaVela - The opening regatta of the 2011 Mediterranean sailing season came to an end today with few surprises. Azzurra in TP52, Inti in Maxi Wally, Alegre in Maxi, and Mapfre in J80 take the Mapfre PalmaVela trophy home.
One of Europe's most scenic events came to an end today in the bay of Palma after four days of racing which delivered very different wind patterns and great conditions throughout the whole contest. In a good northeasterly breeze of 18 to 22 knots, the Mapfre PalmaVela regatta set up two coastal courses of 14,8 miles for the Maxis and Maxi Wally and 12,3 for the Vintage and Classic, whereas the rest of the classes completed windward-leeward races.
The honours in the TP52 class went to Guillermo Parada on Audi Azzurra Sailing Team, followed by Nikklas Zentrömm's RÀN which was second, and Bribón which was third. RÀN managed to win today's first race after a good start on the pin end, whereas Audi Azzurra Sailing Team was second and Bribón was third. The second race was won by Azzurra thus clinching the TP25 trophy, followed by RÀN and Bribón. The Swedish boat showed a great performance in Palma and will be one of the contenders to take into account in the upcoming Audi MedCup Circuit due to start on May 16th in Cascais.
Italian Inti claimed first place in the Maxi Wally class after winning today's coastal race. Second was YK3, and also British Magic Carpet 2 dropped from being second to third. Open Season could have been second but a protest won by Magic Carpet 2 pushed her down to sixth place.
With an almost perfect score of five bullets and a second place, Andrés Soriano's Alegre dominantly won the Maxi classification. Monaco flagged Highland Flying XI of Irvine Laidlaw crossed the finish line first today thus being second in the overall scoring, whereas British Jethou of Sir Peter Odgen was third.
J80 heavy weight Carlos Martínez's Mapfre signed a dominant win in the one design class for the third consecutive year. Two bullets and a second place in today's three races gave the Spanish team a fifteen point advantage upon Bufete Frau Abogados, which moved up to second after a third and two fourth places today. Third was Nextel Engineering of Ignacio 'Trucha' Camino.
The trophy in the Vintage class went to Albert Kusak's Enterprise after crossing today's 12,3 miles coastal finish line first. Second was Moonbeam IV skippered by Mikaël Creac'h and third was Tim Liesenhoff's Marigan. Winner of the Classic class was Merengue IV of Xisco Pou, followed by Margarita Estalindalamar of Antón de Llano and Miguel Rigo's Freda.
Five bullets gave Pace the honours in the IRC class after four races and a tight fight with Fernando León's CAM in today's first contest where they crossed the finish line together. Third was S.Y. Ace of Fred Stelle.
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