Champions crowned by H.R.M. King Felipe

Palma de Mallorca, Spain (August 10, 2014) – The 33rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE finished in Palma de Mallorca. The bay of Palma reaffirmed its reputation with good wind conditions throughout the week, and only added a little bit more excitement on the final day with an irregular wind that reduced the sailing schedule to a single race. The names of the eight winners were decided in the last race of the championship.

The champions of the 33rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE are Americans “Shockwave” (Gaastra IRC 0) and “Quantum Racing” (Barclays 52 Super Series), Italians “Hurakan” (Gaastra IRC 1) and “Lelagain” (Nespresso X 35), Russian “Bronenosec” (Gazprom Swan 60), and Spaniards “Rats on Fire” (BMW ORC 1), “Movistar” (BMW ORC 2) and “Noticia” (Herbalife J80). The King, H.R.M. King Felipe, presided at the official prize giving ceremony.

Gaastra IRC 0
The fight for the title in the class Gaastra IRC 0 was fierce throughout the week. Four out of the five Mini Maxi boats won at least one of the 11 races held, and the top three teams faced the last day separated by only three points. The title was decided in the final race with victory and championship for American George Sakellaris’ “Shockwave”. Hap Fauth’s “Bella Mente” (third today) and Roberto Tomasini’s “Robertissima III” (second today) completed the podium.

Gaastra IRC 1
H.R.M. King Felipe sailed in the final day of competition of the 33rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE. King Felipe skippered the Spanish Navy’s TP52 “Aifos” to finish on a commendable fourth place in the class Gaastra IRC 1. In the fight for the championship, Giuseppe Parodi’s “Hurakan” didn’t give ground to any of his nine rivals. The Italian TP52 sealed his first title with seven victories in ten races. Today he finished second. The winner of today’s race was French Mergui Mikael’s GP42 “Team Vision Future”, who finished second overall, followed by Austrian René Mangold’s “Aquila”.

Gazprom Swan 60
The 33rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE was as well the Gazprom Swan 60 World Championship. The defender of the world title, Vladimir Liubomirov’s “Bronenosec” proved to be in best shape throughout the week, and is proclaimed world champion for the second consecutive year. The Russian boat added today the fifth victory out of ten races. The runner-up went to another Russian boat, “Spirit of Europe” skippered by Boris Gusev. Third was Chinese Fan Yeliang’s “Windward”.

Barclays 52 Super Series
Seven TP52 fought in Palma for the title in the class Barclays 52 Super Series. The defender, American “Quantum Racing”, managed to stay at the top of the scoring board during all six days thanks to its regularity. Although it wasn’t the boat with more individual victories, he managed to afford a fourth in the final race and still be crowned champion of the Copa del Rey MAPFRE. Second is Swedish Niklas Zennström’s “Rán”, followed by Alberto Roemmers’ “Azzurra”. The same three teams occupied the same positions in 2013.

BMW ORC 1
Rafa Carbonell’s Swan 45 “Rats on Fire” successfully defended his title in the class BMW ORC 1. The boat skippered by Manuel Doreste won five out of the ten races sailed in order to win his fourth title in the Copa del Rey MAPFRE (2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014). Second, was Hendrik Brandis’ “Earlybird”, 15.5 points behind the champions, followed by Christian Plump’s “Elena Nova”, who leaves Palma after winning the final race.

BMW ORC 2
Enrique Terol’s Sinergia 40 “Movistar” finished the championship with the best results of the entire fleet: eight victories out of ten races in the class BMW ORC 2. This victory means the sixth Copa del Rey MAPFRE for the Galician team (2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2014). It also means the seventh victory for its skipper, Pedro Campos, who sets a new record in the regatta (1993, 1995, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2014). The excitement of the day was in the fight for second place, who finally went to Lluis Blanchar’s “Varador 2000” (second today), ahead of Teo Matheu’s “Airlan Aermec” (winner of the last race). Just one point separated them in the final results.

Nespresso X-35
Alessandro Solerio’s “Lelagain” won today his second Copa del Rey MAPFRE (2010 and 2014). A discrete seventh place in the last race was enough for the Italian team to win the final glory. One point behind is Javier Banderas’ “Puerto Deportivo Benalmádena”, skippered by Javier Cuevas, who was third today. Javier Sanz’s “Red Eléctrica de España”, skippered by Alberto Viejo, closed the podium, winning the final race of the week.

Herbalife J80
José María Torcida’s “Noticia” won in an overwhelming way in the class Herbalife J80. Torcida, double world champion in the class (2007 and 2010), led the provisional classification from the third day of racing, and completed the regatta with a difference of no other than 20 points over his nearest rival. “Noticia” won six out of the 12 races sailed, including todays. Carlos Martinez’s “Movistar” finished in second place, followed by Javier Padrón’s “Herbalife”.

The 34th Copa del Rey MAPFRE will be held from August 1 – 8, 2015.

Event website – Results