Tenzor International Cup - J/70 Open Winter Series 2025/26 - Leg 3 Day 1
by Tenzor Cup 16 Jan 23:32 PST
15-18 January 2026
Top three teams finish the day tied on points!
The first race day of Tenzor International Cup J/70 Winter Series Leg 3 proved to be intensely competitive! Despite unstable wind conditions, the competitors sailed two tense and tactically interesting races that set an intriguing tone for the entire regatta.
In the first race of the day, victory was taken by Ptichki Sailing Team helmed by Elvira Pinchuk, finishing ahead of Trem Sailing Team led by Svetlana Sorokina. The gap between the leaders was a mere 5 seconds. A pleasant surprise for the Turkish fans was the success of Orient Express skippered by Haluk Babacan, which took third place and topped the Corinthian division.
"It was an unexpectedly good day. In the morning there was no wind and the forecast was very weak. However, in the afternoon westerly wind picked up then shifted to northwest and we were able to complete two races. First race was a good one for Orient Express. After a decent start we were able to find clear winds and good shifts which put us at the third place. We are pleased with our speed and angles where we can compete with all the best teams. Second race surprised us with a huge right shift after the half of first beat which pushed us at the back of the fleet, rounding 7th. Unfortunately downwind did not work well and lost two more places, ending 9th. In the second race upwind marks were placed just under the mountain which I believe was a wrong decision but that was due to the committee hurrying up to start the second race I assume. Looking forward to tomorrows 4 races," summarized Arif Gürdenli from Orient Express.
The top five finishers included Dolce Vita of Inna Balashova and Tenzor Team with Andrey Pushkin on helm.
The second race shuffled the fleet. The top three featured Russian Bogatyrs, Tenzor Team, and Bars Sailing Team. The Turkish teams Eker Team and IVEDI also actively joined the fight for the top positions.
Combining the results of both races created a unique situation. Three teams - Russian Bogatyrs, Ptichki Sailing Team, and Tenzor Team - are tied with 7 points each. In fourth place, just three points behind, is Bars Sailing Team led by Maksim Batrakov. Places from 5th to 7th in the overall standings, with an absolute tie on points, are shared by three crews: Trem Sailing Team, Orient Express and Dolce Vita.
Eker Team, IVEDI and Gaswar completed the top-10 of the fleet. In Corinthians, Orient Express is leading ahead of Team Aspat (2nd) and Ayaz JR (3rd).
"The first two races showed that everyone is very close. Every slightest mistake in any position is costly. We now have a very tight leaderboard, so it will only get more interesting from here. The wind forecast for the upcoming two race days is good," said Tenzor Team tactician Daniil Odintsov.
On Saturday, the regatta participants face the second race day with up to 4 races scheduled. The first race starts at 12:00.
Results after Day 1: (top ten, 2 races)
- Russian Bogatyrs 7pts
- Ptichki Sailing Team 7pts
- Tenzor Team 7pts
- Bars Sailing Team 10pts
- Trem Sailing Team 12pts
- Orient Express 12pts
- Dolce Vita 12pts
- Eker Efsane 14pts
- IVEDI 14pts
- Gaswar 18pts