Tenzor International Cup - J/70 Open Winter Series 2025/26 - Leg 5 Day 2
by Burak Zengin 21 Mar 23:59 PDT
20-22 March 2026
The fifth Leg of Tenzor International Cup - J/70 Open Winter Series 2025/2026 continued in Bodrum with a thrilling second day of racing. Competitors were greeted with excellent conditions featuring 14-18 knots of wind, which led to a complete shake-up of the leaderboard after six races.
Onur Erardag's Nautique Yachting delivered a standout performance, securing two race wins and a second-place finish. This impressive scoreline propelled the team to the top of the overall standings.
"Finally, it was a good day for us. We finished the day with a 1-1-2 scorecard which put us in the lead. It was a windy day and we are really happy with our upwind speed. It helped us a lot. We were able to minimize our mistakes on downwind which was our goal for this event. TIC regattas are great winter training for the upcoming season. It's really hard to find warm weather, good wind, and a really competitive fleet during winter, so we are glad to be here", - concluded Doga Aribas, tactician of Nautique Yachting.
Ptichki Sailing Team moved into second position after claiming one victory during the day's three races, while Bars Sailing Team also improved their standing to round out the top-3.
"Wonderful competition! Three races of the second racing day were simply magnificent - there was a lot of wind and a lot of emotions. There were both good and not-so-good moments. Nothing too critical happened, though once we missed the top mark and had to dodge all our rivals, rounding it near last place. That felt like a tough moment. But then we pulled ourselves together and gained several positions over the full course. We were pleased to improve over such a short distance. In two races, we fought against the nature and ourselves. In the third race, we finally succeeded - we managed to beat ourselves, our rivals, and the weather to achieve the best result", - commented Alexander Grishunin, bowman of Ptichki Sailing Team.
Happyhour JR is fourth having equal points with the third-place team, maintaining a tight battle at the top. Meanwhile, Tenzor Team made a significant leap in spite of few technical issues, climbing from eighth to fifth place just in 1 point behind the podium. The crew managed to handle the better tactics.
The leaders from the opening day - Ada JR Kalinka, Dolce Vita, and Bogatyrs - lost ground in the standings and now find themselves in pursuit mode heading into the decisive final day, where the medals for the fifth stage will be decided.
"Today we had three races in excellent wind. It was very shifty, with many shifts, gusts, so it wasn't easy. The fleet is racing very tightly. Any mistake leads to losing positions, and you can drop from the front to the back. So it's very interesting. We're hoping for the exciting racing in the last day of regatta", - told Valentin Uvarkin, tactician of Dolce Vita.
With all teams within striking distance, the final day of racing promises intense competition as crews battle for the stage podium.
Results after Day 2: (top ten, 6 races)
1. Nautique Yachting 11pts
2. Ptichki Sailing Team 17pts
3. Bars Sailing Team 20pts
4. Happyhour JR 20pts
5. Tenzor Team 21pts
6. Ada JR Kalinka 23pts
7. Dolce Vita 23pts
8. Russian Bogatyrs 24pts
9. Orient Express 39pts