It was a great start for Audi Azzurra Sailing Team, competing in the 39th edition of the Trofeo Conde de Godó. On the opening day of the brand-new 52 Super Series circuit the team gained two bullets as well as a second place.
Audi Azzurra Sailing Team competing in the Trofeo Conde de Godó Photo by Jesus Renedo/Azzurra
The 2012 Trofeo Conde de Godó started in Barcelona in a brilliant way for Yacht Club Costa Smeralda‘s flagship: three races were held in ideal conditions, with a breeze blowing between 12 and 16 knots, that saw Azzurra’s unequivocal domination thanks to a combination of great starts, excellent tactics and flawless crew work.
The third race, marked by an exciting circling with Quantum in the prestart, saw Azzurra hitting the starting line with perfect timing at the race committee end, on port tack and clear from the rest of the fleet. However, the excitement wasn’t about to end because the first beat turned into a tight match race with Ran. If Azzurra has always shown an edge upwind, the Swedish boat was very dangerous downwind and managed to overtake Azzurra.
Onboard Azzurra was also her owner, Pablo Roemmers: “Today we had ideal conditions, small swell and just about the right amount of wind. We are sitting at the top of the leaderboard, merely a point ahead of Ran with whom we had a really nice duel in the third race. It truly was a beautiful day of racing”.
Guillermo Parada, skipper of Azzurra, was realistic: “It’s a great start to raise the curtain with two victories and lead the scoretable. Nevertheless, this is just the beginning and we still have a long way ahead of us but we can deal with it with great spirit”.
All4One didn’t take part in yesterday’s races for technical reasons and should be back on the water today.
52 Super Series after 3 Races:
1 Audi Azzurra Sailing Team (ITA) 4pts
2 Rán (SWE) 5pts,
3 Quantum Racing (USA) 9pts
4 Gladiator (GBR) 12pts
5 Audi Sailing Team powered by ALL4ONE dnc
