ORCi European Championship - Still on fire and back on top

by ORC on 11 Jul 2010 2010 ORCi European Championship is being sailed from the Lega Navale Italiano Cagliari, Sardinia.

After a long day of postponements and light sea breezes, race managers from the Lega Navale Italiano Cagliari chose to keep the 2010 ORCi European Championship fleet out until the early evening for three races yesterday in attempt to complete the schedule of seven inshore races.

And when the dust settled from these races and subsequent protest decisions, the early series leaders have emerged back on top. Riccardo Di Bartolomeo’s Botin & Carkeek-designed Grand Soleil 42R0 MAN, with the help of America’s Cup tactician Tomasso Chieffi and an all-star team, has further extended their lead in Class A, losing only one race to Maurizio Biscardi’s Valicelli-designed Comet 50 Verve-Dahlia TV, who currently lies in third in the standings. Current runner-up is Raffaele Archivolti’s Beneteau First 50 Saphira, helmed by GP42 Champion Paolo Cian.

In the larger 20-boat Class B, Francesco Siculiana’s Massimo Paperini-designed Grand Soleil 40RC Alvarosky has overcome a mediocre offshore race result to regain the lead on the strength of 3-2-2 scores yesterday. But the star of the day in this class was Gianfranco Cioce’s Comet 38S Scricca, who earned finishes of 5-1-1 to put her within easy striking distance of the lead. Also within reach of the lead is the Cossutti-designed M37 Escandalo, owned by Manuel Constantin, winner of the offshore race in this class.

While the results in Class A looks like a runaway for MAN, there is ample scrambling in the ranks behind her, as two races in Class A could not be resolved to within a second in corrected time: second place in Race 5 was shared by Saphira and the Valente-Stillitano-Bernardo syndicate’s Cossutti-designed NM43 Nautilus Wave, and in Race 6 third place was shared again by Nautilus Wave and Radim Parizek’s B&C-designed GS 42R0 Bohemia Express from the Czech Republic.

If Principle Race Officer Sandro Ricetto can get in two races today, the teams will have one discard race form their scores and the standings may re-shuffle again. But right now things look good for MAN with their 16.75 point lead going into this final day of racing.

Top five results after seven races, Division A:

1. MAN GS 42R0 Riccardo di Bartolomeo 7.25 points
2. Saphira First 50 Raffaele Archivolti 24
3. Verve-Dahlia TV Comet 50 Maurizio Biscardi 36.75
4. Nautilus Wave NM 43 Valente-Stillitano-Bernardo 37.5
5. One-Noidinotte Comet 45S Saverio Bifulco 45

Top five results after seven races, Division B:

1. Alvarosky GS 40RC Francesco Siculiana 26.125 points
2. Scricca Comet 38S Gianfranco Cioce 37
3. Escandalo M37 Manuel Costantin 45.625
4. Low Noise M37 Giuseppe Giuffre 49
5. Rewind X-37 Claudio Paesani 49

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