Puntaldia (Olbia Tempio), 23 April 2023
The first seasonal event of the Melges World League circuit for the Melges 32 class ended today on the regatta field of the Marina di Puntaldia.
In a ranking that has never been so short (all the first three classified on equal points) the success goes, for the first time in his career, to the German Heat of Max Augustin, the real surprise of this event having also won as a Corinthian team.
Heat, since the first day, had proven its worth by conquering the provisional leadership with tactical choices and performance of absolute reference.
On the second day, the German team had to suffer the return of two big names in the fleet, the reigning World Champion Pippa 2 of the Norwegian Lasse Petterson (with Gabriele Benussi as tactician) and Petite Terrible of Claudia Rossi (alongside the tactician Diego Negri) best team yesterday on the race course.
Today in growing wind conditions, with gusts up to 18 knots from 140 degrees direction, Heat immediately dropped the winning ace in the first race, returning to the top of the provisional classification. In the last race won by Alberto Rossi’s Enfant Terrible (with Daniele Cassinari as tactician) the intersection of the various placements on the finish line drew a classification with the first three on equal points. The final victory goes (thanks to the three successes out of eight races) to Heat, followed by Petite Terrible and Pippa 2.
Max Augustin, helmsman of Team Heat – “It was a great emotion to have conquered this first success with great suffering in a class that is confirmed to be of the highest level in which everything is played out on the smallest details. For us it has been an incredible week, we arrived here after a long winter of preparation. A special thank you from all the Melges 32 class to all the staff of the Marina di Puntaldia: racing here is always magical and we are happy to have achieved our first victory in the Melges 32 class right here in Sardinia.”
Final general classification Top 5:
1. HEAT – GER (Max Augustin) – (1,1,4,5,3,7,1,6): pt. 21
2. PETITE TERRIBLE – ITA (Claudia Rossi / Diego Negri) – (2,7,7,1,1,3,4,3): pt. 21
3. PIIPA 2 – NOR (Lasse Petterson / Gabriele Benussi) – (3,3,2,2,2,5,6,4): pt. 21
4. ENFANT TERRIBLE – ITA (Alberto Rossi / Daniele Cassinari) – 6,4,3,6,5,1,2,1: pt. 22
5. WILMA – GER (Fritz Homann / Nicola Celon) – 4,5,1,4,7,4,3,5: pt. 23
Final general classification Melges World League / Melges 32 Puntaldia Grand Prix 1
Winner Day 1 by Sardinia Dream Villas : HEAT (Max Augustin)
Winner Day 2 by Municipality of San Teodoro: PETITE TERRIBLE (Claudia Rossi)
Winner Day 3 by Mag.nus: ENFANT TERRIBLE (Alberto Rossi)
Best Rookie by Popkore: PETITE TERRIBLE (Claudia Rossi)
1st Corinthian by Banca Aletti BPM Group: HEAT (Max Augustin)
1st overall Winner by Consortium of Puntaldia: HEAT (Max Augustin)
The rehearsals of the Melges 32 regattas can be seen live and in replica on the Sailmon tracking (v. link)
The Melges World League circuit is once again the protagonist with the second Grand Prix of the season in a month, where the Melges 20 and Melges 32 fleets will meet once again on the Puntaldia regatta course.
Melges World League thanks Marina di Puntaldia and the official technical partners Garmin and Sailmon, besides of the event partners: Comune di San Teodoro, Sardinia Dream Villas, Banca Aletti – Gruppo Banco BPM, Consorzio di Puntaldia, Banor, Mag.nus, Due Lune Puntaldia Resort & Golf, Baglioni Resort Sardinia, Catellani & Smith, Il Marino di Puntaldia, Popkore, Nuraghe Crabioni, Lurisia Premium Beverages, Smeraldina, Tenuta Teo d’Oro, Petrognola.
