Alfa Romeo leads the charge

But this time it's Jani Lethi's Vrolijk 42 in the North Europeans IMS championship

The Finnish Team Alfa Romeo, a Vroljik 42 skippered by Jani Lethi, are currently on the top of the North European IMS overall results and they are planning on heading for gold in the HSH Nordbank blue championship on Bornholm in September.

Now that the first part of the 2006 season for the Northern European IMS sailors is over, the ranking list for the region has three major contenders: Finn Jani Lethi with his Team Alfa Romeo, a Vroljik 42 design from 2004, came out on top at first after a strong performance in the Volvo Suursaari Race, Espoo in June. But they where soon replaced by Russian Sergey Shevtsov and his crew on Yugtransit, a IMS 600, when they won the offshore series Kiel Cup (Class IMS 1) during Kiel Week 2006.

"We on Team Alfa Romeo have been sailing together for 10 years," says Jani Lethi, who has had the backing from Alfa Romeo for three years now. "The season in Finland is very short so we have to train efficiently between May and September. Every year we sail 3-4 times each week in local regattas in addition to training sessions. We started campaigning this Vroljik 42 last season and we basically got it right from the beginning."
 
In their second qualifying regatta, The Eurocard Gotland Runt, they ended fourth. That result got them back in the top of the IMS ranking for Northern Europe. Swede Ralf Aspholm, owner of Data Communication, a Sinergia 40, is holding second place on the ranking after winning the biggest IMS class and coming first overall in the Eurocard Gotland Runt.

The Russian Yugtransit is in third place on the ranking so far. "It is going to be some very hard racing on Bornholm in September, but our ambition is to win. Data Communication is our most dangerous competition. They are always one of the boats we are fighting with, and we have met them a lot over the years. After seeing how well the Russian Yugtransit performed in Kieler Woche I think they also will be a major contender among the top tree," says Lethi.

The deadline for registering for the HSH Nordbank blue championship is 31 July.

There are three more qualification events that lead to the finals on Bornholm: Swedish IMS Championship, Marstrand 23-29 July, IMS World Championship, Neustadt 8-13 August, and the Norwegian IMS Championship, Hankø, 8-10 September.

Chairman Eckhard von der Mosel expects around 30 IMS participants qualifying for the HSH Nordbank blue championship, all of them representing the best IMS sailors around the Baltic Sea.