Kuznetsov Keeps Lead at Melges 32 Worlds

Cala Galera, Italy (Aug. 24, 2017) – The 2017 Melges 32 Boero World Championship hosted by Circolo Nautico e della Vela Argentario came to life today, adding three more fierce races to the scoreboard under slightly breezy conditions. Three intense races and three varied winners help keep Kuznetsov at the forefront of the Cala Galera Worlds, Reintjes holds steadfast as Corinthian division leader.

Standing firm at the top is Russia’s Pavel Kuznetsov at the helm of TAVATUY (Evgeny Neugodnikov, tactician). His big risks, apparent aggressiveness and very few tactical mistakes paid off big as he further extended his lead by a couple of points.

Just behind are some of his biggest adversaries, including Edoardo Lupi and Massimo Pessina (Lorenzo Bressani, tactician) sailing TORPYONE. Their 6-2-1 daily score is a vast improvement over yesterday’s 7-8, moving them up to second place. Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio’s G.SPOT (Branko Brcin, tactician) experienced a mediocre day on the race course. In particular, a scoring set-back in Race Four dropped them into third.

In contrast, Race Four was a banner heat for Melges 32 Class stalwart Edoardo Pavesio’s FRA MARTINA (Manuel Weiller Vidal, tactician) as he earned a valuable bullet, enabling him to remain in fourth.

Matteo Balestrero proved that patience and small steps could mean big movement. Thanks to a subtle 3-9-3 scoreline, he and his GIOGI team have now emerged into the top five.

Notable kudos goes out to Vincenzo Onorato’s MASCALZONE LATINO (Cameron Appleton, tactician) for a nice, well-deserved win in Race Three.

The Corinthian division standings remain very close with little change from Day One. The all-Italian teams of Martin Reintjes’ CAIPIRINHA (Enrico Fonda, tactician) and Francesco Graziani’s VITAMINA (Andrea Fornaro, tactician) are still first and second respectively.

Tomorrow will mark the third day of competition and for some, it will be the last opportunity to ‘move up’ as with the completion of Race Six, each team will discard their worst performance. The first warning on Friday will be 13.00 (Italy).

The 2017 Melges 32 Boero World Championship continues through August 26.

TOP FIVE RESULTS (PRELIMINARY – After Five Races)
1.) Pavel Kuznetsov/Evgeny Neugodnikov, TAVATUY; 1-1-2-5-10 = 19
2.) Edoardo Lupi-Massimo Pessina/Lorenzo Bressani, TORPYONE; 7-8-6-2-1 = 24
3.) Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio/Branko Brcin, G.SPOT; 2-3-4-14-2 = 25
4.) Edoardo Pavesio/Manuel Weiller Vidal, FRA MARTINA; 3-7-8-1-7 = 26
5.) Matteo Balestrero/Daniele Cassinari, GIOGI; 12-6-3-9-3 = 33

Event details – Crew list – Facebook

ENTRY LIST (Helm/Tactician)
1.) Martin Reintjies/Enrico Fonda, CAIPIRINHA (Corinthian)
2.) Ahmet Eker/Mike Buckley, EKER
3.) Edoardo Pavesio/Manuel Weiller Vidal, FRA MARTINA
4.) Matteo Balestrero/Daniele Cassinari, GIOGI
5.) Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio/Branko Brcin, G-SPOT
6.) Kilian Holzapfel/Frithjof Schwerdt, JUNIOR HOMANIT (Corinthian)
7.) Richard Goransson, Vasco Vascotto, INGA
8.) Christian Schwoerer/Nic Asher, LA PERICOLOSA
9.) Vincenzo Onorato/Cameron Appleton, MASCALZONE LATINO
10.) Lasse Petterson/Matteo Ivaldi, PIPPA
11.) Jens Khune/Stefano Cherin, SJAMBOK
12.) Andrea Ferrari/Pietro Pietro Sibello, SPIRIT OF NERINA
13.) Pavel Kuznetsov/Evgeny Neugodnikov, TAVATUY
14.) Edoardo Lupi-Massimo Pessina/Lorenzo Bressani, TORPYONE
15.) Francesco Graziani/Andrea Fornaro, VITAMINA (Corinthian)
16.) Andrea Lacorte/Gabriele Benussi, VITAMINA AMERIKANA
17.) Fritz Homann/Nico Celon, WILMA

Source: M32 Class