Sip and knock on the table of the ‘Sled’. The sailboat with the North American flag, which in Palma is skippered by Murray Jones, smells of glory with only one day to go. This Friday has been placed leader of the Rolex TP52 World Championship RCNP 2021 and he is also the first in the general classification of the 52 SUPER SERIES circuit. On the two podiums he is accompanied by Doug Devos’s ‘Quantum Racing’, second, and Harm Müller-Spreer’s ‘Platoon’, third.
As for the two regattas that were held this Friday, the ‘Quantum’ took the first and the ‘Sled’, the second. The American sailboat, with Francesco Bruni in the tactic, was right in the choice of the left side of the race course to consummate a landslide victory in which it obtained a more than one minute advantage over its main pursuers. The ‘Quantum’, yes, was the best boat of the day after signing a first and a second. And the ‘Phoenix’? He starred in the unfortunate moment of the day, fate was twisted. A few meters from the arrival of the first heat, he broke the gennaker and this made him lose up to four positions and practically say goodbye to his World title and 52 SUPER SERIES season options. He is currently fourth and while the ‘Sled’ has it two points in the World Cup, in 52 SUPER SERIES the distance goes up to five points. “
For the last day of this Saturday, all eyes will be directed towards the weather forecast. The classification of this Friday could be final because for tomorrow it is expected that a very active front will enter that could mean that there would be no regattas. The limit for these monohull boats to sail is 25 knots of wind and everything indicates that they will be exceeded. With the current classification, Takashi Okura’s ‘Sled’ would become the third team (after ‘Quantum’ and ‘Azzurra’) to win a season of 52 SUPER SERIES and it would be the first time they have won the Rolex TP52 World Championship. Francesco Bruni, Sled tactician, commented that “the boat is very fast and we are at a point where before starting the championship we signed it for sure. Tomorrow it will be difficult to have regattas and, therefore, our position is very nice. We are having a good championship. It is a positive moment for the team and I am sure that if there is a regatta tomorrow we will do well. We are good in these conditions and Murray Jones is doing very well ”.
ROLEX TP52 World Championship RCNP 2021 Classification (After 8 races)
1. Sled (7,2,5,1,6,1,7,1) 30 points
2. Quantum Racing (4,5,3,4,5,7,1,2) 31 p.
3. Platoon (3,3,4,8,2,2,3,6) 31 p.
4. Phoenix (1,1,6,7,3,3,6,5) 32 p.
5. Alegre (5,9,1,10,1,5,8,3) 42 p,
6. Bronenosec Gazprom (2,8,9,2,4,8,2,8) 43 p.
7. Interlodge (9,4,7,5,8,6,5,9) 53 p.
8. Provezza (10,7,2,9,9,4,9,4) 54 p.
9. Gladiator (8,10,8,3,10,9,4,7) 59 p.
10. Code Zero (6,6,10,6,7.10,10, dnf) 66 p.
General classification circuit 52 SUPER SERIES 2021
1. Sled 74 points.
2. Quantum Racing 75 p.
3. Platoon 76 p.
4. Phoenix 79 p.
5. Alegre 85 p.
6. Bronenosec Gazprom 94 p.
7. Provezza 110 p.
8. Interlodge 123 p.
9. Gladiator 142 p.