Yesterday
The best season for the Battleship
On September 28, in Porto Cervo in Sardinia, the 52 Super Series of the 2019 season ended with a dramatic denouement. Thanks to the amazing composure, the Italian Azzurra won the season title, and the St. Petersburg Yacht Club team finished the season in a worthy fourth place.
The first comparison of the lineup in the standings of the season before the start of the Audi 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week Porto Cervo on September 24 and after its completion on September 28 will not reveal any changes in the first three. Indeed, there are no formal changes – the teams retained their positions. This is exactly what the crew of the Azzurra of the Costa Smeralda yacht club sought. The Rommerez family team with Santiago Lange as a tactic approached the start of the decisive stage as a leader with a small margin before the German Platoon, and did not intend to give up their place. Everything went according to notes.
But the party was not easy. First of all, the rivals were baffled by the torn rhythm of the regatta. Mistral, who arrived in time for the start of the regatta, caused the cancellation of the first and third competitive days – an unprecedented phenomenon in the 52 Super Series. Maintaining stability in such conditions is very difficult, but the Italian team did better.
It is interesting that already in the first race of the final day, Azzurra could prematurely resolve the situation in her favor if she won by a margin of four or more points. But Platoon chased the rival on the heels and in all three races of the day finished right behind Azzurra. And yet, after the second race, it became clear that the Italians won their third title of winners of the 52 Super Series season since 2012. In turn, for Platoon this is the third consecutive silver medal of the 52 Super Series season in 2017-2019. Three-time winner of the Golden Cup in the Dragon class Harm Muller-Spreer will not achieve the long-awaited gold in the 52 Super Series.
An interesting role was assigned to the American Quantum Racing. The crew of the DeVos family acted as a “gasket” between the applicants for gold, which paid off in the form of a bronze medal of the stage and season 52 of the Super Series.
Well, the star of the stage in Porto Cervo was the crew of the New York Sled Yacht Club. With astounding five wins in nine races, Takeshi Okura's team won by a significant margin.
For the crew of the Saint-Petersburg Yacht Club “Battleship”, the 2019 season was the most successful in the entire history of the performance in the class. Two stage medals were won, including the bronze of the world championship in the TP52 class – the first medal for Russia in the championship in this class since 2010 (then Synergy won the bronze).
In Porto Cervo, the Battleship had every chance of taking the medal from the Americans. The team of Vladimir Lyubomirov opened the race in the top three, but then performed unstable and finished fifth. In the overall standings, “Battleship” retained the fourth line – this is so far the best result in the team’s assets.
“On the one hand, it’s unfortunate that we could not finish the season in the top three, although there were prerequisites for this,” team skipper Vladimir Lyubomirov comments on the season. – On the other hand, after a one-year break in the 52 Super Series, we returned and won two medals in five stages and in the standings of the season lost a little more than 10 points to the first three. This is significant progress that should be further developed. ”
Meanwhile, the 52 Super Series has already unveiled the calendar of events for the 2020 anniversary season. Some surprises have been prepared for future participants. Firstly, the series will visit South Africa – for the first time in its history, and it will also host the TP52 world championship there. Secondly, the European part of the calendar will consist of four stages, which in total gives six stages in a season. So many races will be held for the first time since 2014.
Audi 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week Porto Cervo Results –
Results 52 Super Series 2019 –
http://www.52superseries.com/events/2019/all/
Calendar 52 Super Series 2020 –
http://www.52superseries.com/events/2020/all/
Alexey Zhirov,
PR-director of the Yacht Club of St. Petersburg
135 Yesterday # 9517
Chief Editor
battleshipseason
What do you think?