2026 470 European Championships Day 4: Pumping day on the water and Italians' commanding lead
by International 470 Class Association 12 Mar 11:32 PDT
6-14 March 2026
2026 470 European Championships day 4 © International 470 Class Association
Three races were held in great 470 sailing conditions, as the wind on the race course was between 10 and 14 knots. Today's racing was all about pumping and responsible decision-making.
Giacomo Ferrari and Alessandra Dubbini made the best of these conditions and now lead with an eight-point gap.
Ferrari and Dubbini won the first race and finished second in the next two races. The leaders dictated the pace of the races and fully controlled the fleet throughout Thursday's racing.
The British team, Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris, are still holding onto second place, as they finished the first two races also in the top group. Third place belongs to Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona. The Spanish team finished in 8th, 13th, and 5th places today, and they have only a two-point difference to the fourth team, Elena Berta and Giulio Calabrò from Italy.
Today, alongside the leaders, Silvia Mas and Alejandro De Maqua were also sailing fast. The Spanish team won two races today and moved up to the 5th position in the general standings.
"We had very good starts in both races, but the real key was that Alejandro was working super hard, pumping a lot, and that was really the key. Our mindset was to keep it simple. To do well in the races, you just have to give it everything, stay calm, and keep pushing every race," said Silvia.
The whole day was dedicated to "pumping", as the wind speed on the race course was around 10 to 14 knots, and the race committee hoisted the "O" flag, which means that pumping is allowed.
"It was nice, it was over 10 knots, so we had the O-flag. Quite a tough day for the crews, a lot of pumping out of the start and on the downwind, basically the whole race. So yeah, a good day, but quite hard," commented Victor Loof from Norway.
Tomorrow is the last day of the finals series, and after tomorrow's two races, the top 10 teams will compete in the medal series on Saturday.
"Well, we're expecting light winds and, I mean, everything can happen, right? There are a lot of teams always pushing. One day one is better; the next day another. So we will try to do our best to keep it simple, stay calm, and fight until the end," added Silva Mas.
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