Valencia 52 Super Series Royal Cup – Day 2
by 52 Super Series 25 Sep 11:40 PDT
23-28 September 2024
Provezza strengthens their Royal Cup campaign with a race victory, while the highly consistent Platoon Aviation intensifies their late bid for the title.
Winning the sole race of a disappointing second day at the Valencia 52 SUPER SERIES Royal Cup, Ergin Imre’s Provezza team now leads the event standings by four points. However, the remarkable consistency displayed by Harm Müller Spreer’s Platoon Aviation, the reigning 2023 circuit champions, indicates a late push for the 2024 title.
After starting the final regatta of the season trailing circuit leaders Tony Langley’s Gladiator by 28 points, Platoon has successfully cut that gap by 11 points over the first three races, demonstrating speed and strategy in the unpredictable, shifting offshore winds that have hindered both the British boat and Quantum Racing powered by American Magic from breaking into the top tier of the 13-boat fleet representing nine nations.
Gladiator, fresh off victories in the Rolex TP52 World Championship and the Puerto Portals 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week, began the day modestly but rallied to finish sixth, while Quantum’s efforts were marred by an early starting line infraction. Doug DeVos’s team was without navigator Evelyn Hull today due to illness.
Paprec excelled
Despite Paprec leading at the first top mark with Provezza in second and Platoon Aviation in third, Provezza’s afterguard quickly identified a right shift with additional pressure that enabled them to overtake the French boat and secure the lead. Platoon also navigated the downwind leg effectively, moving into second place. Provezza’s victory on the water, powered by their red-hulled Vrolijk design, allowed them to distance themselves from Platoon in second place, while Hasso and Tina Plattner’s Phoenix jumped to third overall after the completion of three races.
Provezza’s navigator, who had several Cup campaigns with Mascalzone Latino, Nacho Postigo shared on the dock at King Marine, just meters from where the new Provezza was launched in early August, “The new boat is giving us good results. We’ve only had three races so far, but we’re performing well. There’s still a long way to go. Pepsi (Hamish Pepper, tactician) effectively assessed what was likely to happen next. We engaged in extensive discussions with Santi (Lange), our coach, on the tender, Cole (Parada) monitoring the wind, and I reviewed the weather models to collaborate effectively. But I must say, Pepsi truly excelled at predicting conditions in the next two minutes.”
“We maintained good pressure during the initial downwind leg. We have resolved most of the issues we faced in Portals, and now the boat feels reliable.”
Gladiator finds itself in eighth place after starting with a 12th, but its quest for a first overall circuit title remains on track, currently leading Quantum by 12 points, with potentially seven races left before Saturday’s prestigious prize-giving. Three races are planned for Wednesday.
No changes, the tune stays the same
Their Guille Parada states, “Things haven’t changed much, we have three races lined up tomorrow. Today’s race was another complex one in the offshore winds, which were shifty and variable. We didn’t have the best start but managed to progress enough for an acceptable result under the circumstances. I believe everyone is sensing the end of the season approaching. Now every race and every point carries more weight. I think we are not feeling pressured; it’s just another regatta, and we need to take it one day at a time like any other race. Platoon has had a slightly more freedom regarding their strategy compared to Quantum Racing and ourselves, so perhaps it’s time to keep a closer eye on them. However, we recognize how skilled Vasco is under these conditions and how effective a team they are in unpredictable winds, making them definitely a threat.”
Meanwhile, the calm and collected Müller Spreer seems to relish this late surge, reminiscent of their dual success in 2023, clinching the world title in the final run of the last race and snatching the circuit title from Provezza on the last day. The big question… can they do it again?
The German owner-driver smiled enigmatically, “We’re definitely not intentionally arriving late; we would, of course, prefer to be leading. However, we encountered difficulties in the first event, yet here we are steadily climbing up the ranks, achieving fives, fours, threes, etc. We’ll see what unfolds Saturday afternoon. We’re improving consistently and everything remains open. We cannot afford to lose; that is a certainty. We just strive to perform our best in every race and see where that takes us. I don’t know if we are underdogs right now, but certainly no one is counting on us, so there’s absolutely no pressure. We’ve achieved everything already and have come in with a new boat that didn’t get off to a great start. We are now accustomed to the boat, and anything is possible; we’ve been accruing points. With seven races remaining in shifting conditions, anything can occur; we shall see!”
Racing is set to start at midday Wednesday, with three races on the agenda.
Valencia 52 Super Series Royal Cup Standings after Day 2: (three races)
1. PROVEZZA (TUR), Ergin Imre, 4+2+1 = 8pts
2. PLATOON AVIATION (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 8+1+2 = 11pts
3. PHOENIX (RSA), Hasso & Tina Plattner, 1+11+5 = 17pts
4. PAPREC (FRA), Jean-Luc Pethuguenin, 9+3+7 = 19pts
5. INTERLODGE (USA), Austin & Gwen Fragomen, 7+9+3 = 19pts
6. ALEGRE (GBR), Andy Soriano, 2+5+13 = 20pts
7. TEASING MACHINE (FRA), Eric De Turckheim, 3+13+4 = 20pts
8. GLADIATOR (GBR), Tony Langley, 12+4+6 = 22pts
9. CRIOULA (BRA), Eduardo & Renato Plass, 6+8+10 = 24pts
10. QUANTUM RACING POWERED BY AMERICAN MAGIC (USA), Doug DeVos, 11+6+9 = 26pts
11. VAYU (THA), Whitcraft Family, 5+12+11 = 28pts
12. SLED (USA), Takashi Okura, 13+7+8 = 28pts
13. ALPHA+ (HKG), Shawn & Tina Kang, 10+10+12 = 32pts
52 Super Series 2024 Overall:
1. GLADIATOR (GBR), Tony Langley, 37+35+40+40+22 = 174pts
2. QUANTUM RACING POWERED BY AMERICAN MAGIC (USA), Doug DeVos, 27+36+52+45+26 = 186pts
3. PLATOON AVIATION (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 45+47+48+40+11 = 191pts
4. SLED (USA), Takashi Okura, 33+42+46+67+28 = 216pts
5. ALEGRE (GBR), Andy Soriano, 37+44+51+66+20 = 218pts
6. INTERLODGE (USA), Austin & Gwen Fragomen, 32+49+73+65+19 = 238pts
7. PAPREC (FRA), Jean-Luc Pethuguenin, 49+51+62+63+19 = 244pts
8. VAYU (THA), Whitcraft Family, 51+33+65+80+28 = 257pts
9. ALPHA+ (HKG), Shawn & Tina Kang, 51+58+50+69+32 = 260pts
10. PHOENIX (RSA), Hasso & Tina Plattner, 77+46+65+58+17 = 263pts
11. PROVEZZA (TUR), Ergin Imre, 25+88+110+71+7 = 301pts
12. CRIOULA (BRA), Eduardo & Renato Plass, 77+88+110+70+24 = 369pts
13. TEASING MACHINE (FRA), Eric De Turckheim, 77+88+110+89+20 = 384pts
