Top quality venues announced for 2019 M32 European Series
by M32 Series 20 Dec 2018 05:09 PST
22-24 March 2019
M32 Series Europe 2018: Act 1 Valencia © M32 European Series
For 2019, the M32 European Series will see teams in the high performance one design catamaran class competing in five events across Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands culminating in the M32 World Championship on Lake Garda.
In late March teams get the opportunity to blow the cobwebs away at a warm-up and training event in San Remo, close to the French border in Italy. Two months later the season starts up in earnest with the first scoring event taking place in Marina di Pisa, Italy in late May. The circuit then visits Holland before arriving in Sweden. 2019 will be the second season of racing for the combined Mediterranean and Scandinavian M32 fleets in the M32 European Series.
The first event in Sweden will take place near Gothenburg, close to the island of Hönö where the high tech catamarans are manufactured by Aston Harald. The boats will then head up the Swedish coast to Stenungsund, just north of Marstrand, for two days of inshore racing, prior to their competing in the Tjörn Runt. Organised by the Stenungsunds Segelsällskap, this annual race anti-clockwise around the island of Tjörn is 28 nautical miles long. Typically it attracts several hundred entries, making it one of the highest participation sailing events in Sweden. This year an M32 claimed the course record, held for many years before by a substantially larger ORMA 60 trimaran.
After this the pace of the season intensifies with the M32 fleet returning south to Riva del Garda at the sailing mecca of Lake Garda, for their Pre-Worlds and World Championship at the end of August. The Pre-Worlds will be the last scoring event of the 2019 M32 European Series and will be the prelude to the World Sailing-sanctioned M32 World Championship. For these events, the fleet is set to be joined by teams from the M32 North American Series, making the journey to compete in the class' premier event.
Richard Davies, former class President and owner-driver on Section 16, which ended the 2018 M32 European Series fourth overall, commented: "I'm delighted with the new 2019 M32 European Series. We are anticipating new owners and key teams from the US fleet to join us as we race through the summer in the build-up to the World Championship in Riva del Garda in August. No doubt racing will be as thrilling as usual and the Series very enjoyable for owners and crews."
With circuits now well-established in Europe and North America, M32 events follow a familiar format - taking place over three days with up to eight races per day. These are held on windward-leeward courses with reaching starts and finishes and top and bottom gates. Races typically are of 15-20 minutes duration.
Run by Class Manager and PRO Mattias Dahlstrom, competition on the water is held to the top international standards of race management, umpiring and safety.
Two extra M32s to be made available
New for the 2019 season is that over and above the existing entries in the M32 European Series, the M32's manufacturer Aston Harald, is offering two boats free of charge to teams wishing to compete on the circuit. The intention is for one of these top be a 'development team', while the other will be to entice new owners into the circuit.
Other M32s are available for charter and the organisers can offer turnkey campaigns, complete with experienced crew for those wishing to join the circuit and who are short on time. Capable of speeds approaching 30 knots, M32s offer unrivaled 'performance for your buck'.
Ian Williams, skipper of GAC Pindar, winner of the 2018 M32 Series, and M32 Class Vice President said: "We are extremely excited to announce the 2019 M32 European Series. The ease with which the boats are transported, built, and launched helps us go to amazing venues and I believe we will have six incredible events leading up to what will be a spectacular World Championship in Riva del Garda, one of the best yacht racing venues in the World. With Aston Harald's generous donation of boats, and events from Pisa to Gothenburg, there is now no excuse for teams interested in the M32 not to come and join in the fun."
2019 M32 European Series
San Remo, Italy - 22-24 March (non-scoring warm-up event)
Marina di Pisa, Italy - 24-26 May
Holland - 21-23 June (host venue to be confirmed)
Gothenburg, Sweden - 19-21 July
Stenungsund, Sweden - 15-17 August (two days inshore racing followed by the Tjörn Runt)
Pre-Worlds, Riva del Garda, Italy - 24-25 August
M32 World Championship, Riva del Garda, Italy - 26-30 August
m32world.com