Marc Blees and Code Zero set their sights high at the Rolex TP52 World Championship
by 52 Super Series 22 Oct 2021 09:18 AEDT
2019 Rolex TP52 World Championship Puerto Portals © Nico Martinez
Former top Dutch Finn and Star boat helm turned leading offshore racer, Code Zero's Marc Blees will field a team at next week's ten boat Rolex TP52 World Championship in Palma, Mallorca.
A long time friend, supporter and an ardent fan of the TP52 Class and the 52 Super Series - Code Zero being the clothing partner for the world's leading grand prix monohull class - Blees has assembled a top drawer crew to race Xio-Code Zero, the 2011 former Quantum Racing which as Xio was 2019 ORC World Champion which recently finished third on the TP52 20th Anniversary Invitational Day racing against the full 52 Super Series fleet.
Mark Mendelblatt, 2012 US Olympian in the Star class who was second at the TP52 World Championship in Palma in 2009, will call tactics for his former Star class rival and friend Blees on Xio-Code Zero. Navigator will be South African Marc Lagesse. Otherwise most of the crew sail together regularly on the Maxi 72 Jethou.
"I love the class, I love the boats, I love the 52 Super Series and this is a great opportunity to step in and compete at the highest level and to have a lot of fun with a bunch of great sailors who are mates from Jethou. The boats are fast but very manageable, we are going from a crew of 22 on Jethou to 12 or 13 and we have some big guys so we have lots of power."
Blees enthuses, "The boat is a good boat, still fast and one I have always liked. I love sailing with Mark Mendelblatt, I love his approach and how he pushes. We will certainly have some fun."
Marc Blees last raced on the 52 Super Series with an all-star crew at the Royal Cup IBIZA in 2014 when he finished fifth in the eight boat fleet.