Perfect start

10-15 knot wind and brilliant sunshine mark the opening day of the 27th Copa del Rey Audi Mapfre

In IRC 2, consistency paid off for Italian crew on Give me Five. Two second places put them at the top of the score table, followed by fellow Italians Kora 4. Tony Buckingham’s Ngoni is third, after a 5th and a first.

In IRC 0 the two Telefonica VO70s today carried out an exhibition race, within the Copa del Rey, giving then the right to the City of Palma Trophy. Telefonica Blue , helmed by Bouwe Bekking, won both races. Telefonica Black helmed Pedro Campos, had to abandon the first race after a spinnaker problem.

The ORC 570 leaderboard is wholly Iberian affair. José Manuel Mesquita’s Luso-Roux is first after posting a third and fourth place. Manuel de Tomás’ San Miguel is second, just two points behind the Portuguese boat, tied with Gustavo Martínez’ Hempel-Power

In the X-35 fleet the first race was a British-Dutch battle. After a clear start, Thorkild Juncker’s Cool Runnings stayed ahead despite the tough race against Quantum Racing and Just for Fun. A clear indication of the tight racing was the fact the first six yachts crossed the finish line within 15 seconds. The second race was won by Italian X-TRIFIX, but with a third and a second respectively, Cool Runnings and Quantum Racing are tied on the top spot.

In the Swan 45 class, German Earlybird, one of the favourites to win the Copa del Rey, had a difficult first day. Blue Nights, the sole Finnish boat in the regatta, won the first race after a close battle with the Italian veterans on DSK-Comifin and the Japanese Yasha. The Italians were ahead from the start of the race but Tea Ekengren-Sauren’s yacht grabbed the lead at the second beat and crossed the finish line ahead of the fleet. In the second race, Earlybird had a clear start and lead from the start. Blue Nights lead overall after a fourth in the second race.

The GP42 class premiered in the Copa del Rey Audi Mapfre with their practice race. Near Miss, the Swiss yacht owned by Franck Noël and helmed by Bertrand Pacé, once again showed her clear speed advantage over the other yachts while the local crowds had a reason to cheer with the Spanish Desafío finishing second. Close behind them were the two Italians Roma GP42.2 and AIRIS.

The TP52s also had their official practice race, won by Vasco Vascotto’s Mutua Madrileña, followed by Platoon, helmed by Jochen Schuemann. Terry Hutchinson, fresh from two victorious events in the TP52 circuit has moved over to the helm of the Spanish yacht Desafío and took third place.

Overall Standings

IRC 1
1 Aifos, Jaime Rodríguez Toubes, 1-1, 2 points
2 Moana, Jean François Chavalier, 3-2, 5 points
3 Spirit of Jethou, Stuart Branson, 2-3, 5 points
4 CAM, SAR Felipe de Borbón, 4-4, 8 points
5 Duende 50, Jacinto Rodríguez, 5-6, 11 points

IRC 2
1 Give me five, Arya Yatchs Venezia, 2-2, 4 points
2 Kora 4, Enrico Scerni, 1-4, 5 points
3 Ngoni, Tony Buckingham, 5-1, 6 points
4 Sercotel Hotels, Román Turró, 4-3, 7 points
5 Itaca IX, Jerry Vinkestein, 3-6, 9 points

ORC 570
1 Minnic, Jorn Bock, 4-2, 6 points
2 Luso-Roux, José Manuel Mesquita, 3-4, 7 points
3 Hempel-Power Plate, Gustavo Martínez Doreste, 2-6, 8 points
4 San Miguel, Miguel de Tomás, 8-1, 9 puntos
5 Ícaro, Carles Rodríguez, 1-8, 9 puntos

SWAN 45
1 Blue Nights, Tea Ekengren-Sauren, 1-4, 5 points
2 Jeroboam Ca’Nova, Fernandino Battistella, 5-2, 7 points
3 DSK-Comifin, Danilo Salsi, 2-5, 7 points
4 Talj, Lorenzo Bressani, 6-3, 9 points
5 Yasha, Tony Rey, 3-11, 14 points

Trofeo Ajuntament de Palma - IRC 0
1 Telefónica Azul, Bouwe Bekking, 1-1, 2 points
2 Telefónica Negro, Pedro Campos, 3-2, 5 points

Practice Race

GP42
1. Near Miss
2. Desafío
3. Roma GP42.2
4. AIRIS
5. MADRID
6. Canarias Puerto Calero
7. Caser-Quum

TP52
1. Mutua Madrileña
2. Platoon
3. Desafío
4. Cristabella
5. Matador
6. Caixa Galicia
7. TAU Andalucia
8. ONO
9. RUSAL-SYNERGY
10. AUDI Sailing Team
11. Bribón