2025 Star World Championship in Split, Croatia - Day 2
by ISCYRA 10 Sep 02:22 AEST
7-13 September 2025
Negri and Lambertenghi win Day Two after tactical duel on the Adriatic
The second day of racing at the 2025 Star World Championship in Split, Croatia, saw the full 101-boat fleet return to the water for Race 2 after a 90-minute wait ashore. Despite a light and uncertain forecast, the Race Committee docked out at 12.30pm, taking a chance that paid off handsomely, by early afternoon, a solid 12-knot easterly filled the racecourse, accompanied by a moderate chop across the Split Channel.
The race started at 2.30pm in excellent racing conditions. While a few boats were individually recalled, a general recall was avoided, thanks to the Vakaros RaceSense system, which reliably detected all OCS boats in real time, allowing the fleet to get away cleanly.
The first upwind leg quickly became a tactical battleground. While many of the fleet's Gold Stars favored the right-hand side, it was the teams who tacked early toward the middle that reached the top mark in front. World Champions Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Bruno Prada (POL/BRA) led the fleet at the mark, followed closely by another World Champion, Eric Doyle with Payson Infelise (USA), and the American duo Jim Buckingham and Brad Nichol.
On the first downwind, Kusznierewicz and Prada maintained their lead, but Buckingham/Nichol and the German Silver Star team of Hubert Merkelbach with Markus Koy (GER) overtook Doyle/Infelise and closed the gap. The second upwind saw another tactical reshuffle, Merkelbach and Koy read the shifts best, rounding the second top mark in first, followed by Kusznierewicz/Prada and the Italian World Champions Diego Negri with Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA), who had played the middle of the course to perfection.
The Italians then executed a flawless final downwind leg, surfing into the lead and crossing the finish line in first place, followed by Merkelbach/Koy in second and Kusznierewicz/Prada in third.
"Challenging day today with some shifts, we had forecast for a right trend and unfortunately the it didn't come, otherwise we would have had a great lead at the top mark", commented Diego Negri. "Luckily we were not far from the leading group so thanks to a very good downwind always in phase we managed to go back to the top three, we had very good speed and so we could win the race".
"We loved the race very much, being second in the regatta is always fantastic, it feels very good and the wind was very good until close to the finish line where we had a big shift, but up to this was very nice breeze and we had good speed, we sailed tactically well and it was a very close race, so close we might have even won the race, but congrats to Diego, he deserved it", said Hubert Merkelbach.
Negri / Lambertenghi are leading the overall ranking after two races, followed by Piet Eckert with Frederico Melo (SUI / POR), second yesterday, finished 12th today, and provisionally in third Nick Heuwinkel with Jesper Spehr (GER), the 2025 Bacardi Cup winners in the U30 category.
Race 3 is scheduled for tomorrow, though conditions may prove more challenging. The forecast is calling for a strong southerly breeze, possibly too strong to race, with a chance of showers over the course area. A decision will be made in the morning based on updated weather models and safety considerations.
The 2025 Star World Championship continues to deliver world-class competition and brilliant sailing conditions, thanks to the support of Croatel, sponsor of the event and of the daily LIVE STREAMING of all races, broadcasting the excitement of the championship to a global audience.
Watch the Star World Championship LIVE thanks to CROATEL at www.youtube.com/embed/TEcmo1_TlgY
Full results, photo and video galleries available at worlds.starchampionships.org