Monjo Tropicfeel Autolica leads Barcelona J/70 Winter Series
by J/Boats 20 Feb 2022 02:45 AEDT
21-23 January 2022
Barcelona J/70 Winter Series © Torveo.es
The fourth stage of the Barcelona Winter Series 2021/2022 was held on January 21-23 in Barcelona.
In three days of sailing, with weak winds and frequent interruptions, the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona's RC/ PRO team managed to run eight more races for the series.
Leaders are changing on a daily basis in the hotly contested racing off the spectacular city front. There is strong international participation, with a fleet of sixteen boats from five countries (Spain, England, Germany, Russia, and Poland).
With winds never exceeding 8 kts all weekend-long, Luis Martinez Doreste's team on Monjo Tropicfeel Autolica started out in the "cheap seats" on the first day with a 5-8-10, barely cracking the top five on the leaderboard. However, the Monjo boys got their "mojo" back on days 2 and 3, posting a 4-2-1-1-1 to finish with 22 pts. Sailing a solid series all three days was Luis Martin Cabiedes and team on Noticia. Their record of 1-3-4-1-7-2-6-5 also scored 22 pts for the weekend. In the end, the Monjo crew won the countback for the 22 pts tie-breaker over Noticia to win the weekend and to continue leading the series. Rounding out the podium was Jorge Martinez Doreste's Bodega Can Marles team, taking the bronze with 27 pts total.
The balance of the top five saw one of the up-and-coming Russian teams finish just 2 pts back. Showing strong, consistent form was woman skipper Milena Nikitina's team on Tenzor Sport, posting five top five finishes to take 4th place with 29 pts. Fifth place went to Gustavo Martinez Doreste's Alcaidesa Marina with 31 pts. Notably, he was the third member of the fast-sailing Doreste family to place in the top five!
With a total of 31 races complete after the four events, leading overall is Monjo Tropicfeel Autolica with 67 pts. Lying second is Pablo Gariga and Rayco Tabares' Tenaz with 78 pts, and third sits Jorge Doreste's Bodega Can Marles with 94 pts.
The fifth and penultimate series of the Barcelona Winter Series is scheduled for February 26-27 at RCN Barcelona. The J/70 Barcelona Winter Series consists of six weekends that run from October 2021 to March 2022. Upcoming events are:
Barcelona Winter Series
Act 5: February 26-27
Act 6: March 25-27
Barcelona Spring Series
April 22-24
May 13-15
Count of Godó Trophy - May 26-29
More information at www.rcnb.com.