Porto Cervo, Italy. 20th June 2008. Team Spain once again excelled at the Sardinia Rolex Cup organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with Pedro Campos taking victory in all three of today’s races at the helm of the TP52 Bribon Telefonica. The overall combined results of each team’s three boats (Farr 40, Swan 45, Transpac 52) after eight races now sees Spain lead second-placed Italy by eight points while Team Germany is a further three points behind. With five teams competing and only one race scheduled to be held tomorrow, Spain can be fairly confident of victory.
“We made a few little errors in the long race yesterday” admitted Andrea Cecchetti, Team Manager on board Bribon Telefonica, “ but today I was amazed at how perfectly the entire team worked, from perfect starts to the boat’s speed, which was always faster than the others both upwind and downwind.”
Today’s racing took place once again in blazing sunshine but with lighter winds than on previous days: six to ten knots of breeze at approximately 325°. PRO Peter Reggio commented “It was just about perfect. Beautiful racing. Just a little bit more wind would have been nice but we had a fantastic day’s sailing all the same and we managed to get three races in. This place delivered yet again!”
In addition to the TP52’s bullets, the Spanish team’s Farr 40 San Miguel Telefonica Nerone also had a good day with two firsts and a third while the Swan 45 Telefonica Vertigo, owned by Marco Salvi, managed to break up forgettable performances in the first and last race of the day with a victory in the second.
Team Italy saw Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino continue her run of solid performances with a 3, 1, 2 scoreline. Mascalzone, helmed by Onorato and with Adrian Stead on tactic, is sitting on 15 points after eight races: the lowest overall points total of any of the competing boats.
“The Sardinia is an unusual regatta, different from the others. You sail as if you were match racing with the other teams and this makes it unique. We have tried our best, we’ll have to wait and see how it ends but I don’t know if we will manage it this time.” admitted three-time Farr 40 World Champion Onorato.
Team Germany’s star racer the TP52 Platoon may not have liked today’s lighter conditions as she failed to seize a victory for the first day during this event. Hendrik Brandis’ Swan 45 Earlybird did, however, take home her first victory of the regatta.
Teams Southern Europe and Russia are in fourth and fifth place respectively.
The ninth and final race of the regatta is scheduled to start at 12 midday tomorrow 21st June and north-westerly breezes of no more than 8 knots are expected.
The prize giving of the Sardinia Rolex Cup is scheduled to take place at 6.30pm in the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Piazza Azzurra, overlooking Porto Cervo Marina.

Sardinia Rolex Cup 2008 – Team Summary Results
Team Race Summary (Provisional) – as of 20th June at 18.00
Place) TEAM Overall Points
BOAT Points, Total

1) SPAIN 55
BRIBON-TELEFONICA 3.00 4.00 2.00 1.00 3.00 1.00 1.00 1.00, 16.00
TELEFONICA VERTIGO 1.00 1.00 3.00 1.00 4.00 5.00 1.00 4.00, 20.00
SAN MIGUEL TELEFONICA NERONE 3.00 1.00 3.00 6.00 1.00 1.00 3.00 1.00 19.00

2) ITALY 63
AUDI POWERED BY Q8 5.00 1.00 4.00 2.00 2.00 3.00 3.00 4.00, 24.00
DSK – COMIFIN 3.00 2.00 5.00 4.00 1.00 2.00 5.00 2.00, 24.00
MASCALZONE LATINO 2.00 2.00 1.00 2.00 2.00 3.00 1.00 2.00, 15.00

3) GERMANY 66
PLATOON 1.00 3.00 1.00 3.00 1.00 2.00 2.00 3.00, 16.00
EARLY BIRD 6.00 3.00 2.00 5.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 1.00, 26.00
STRUNTIJE LIGHT 1.00 4.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 4.00 2.00 4.00, 24.00

4) SOUTHERN EUROPE 91
VALARS 2.00 2.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00, 40.00
FANTASTIKINAA 2.00 4.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 4.00 4.00 3.00, 26.00
MANGUSTA RISK 5.00 3.00 4.00 1.00 3.002.00 4.00 3.00, 25.00

5) RUSSIA 93
RUSUAL SINERGY 4.00 5.00 3.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 2.00, 30.00
MURKA 2 4.00 5.00 1.00 2.00 5.00 1.00 2.00 5.00, 25.00
ARCTUR 4.00 5.00 5.00 4.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00, 38.00

For full details of the Sardinia Rolex Cup please visit www.yccs.it

Nacho and Ray working hard at the Sardinia Cup Crew Party.

Copyright ROLEX/Carlo Borlenghi.