Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca

Four Spanish teams advance to the final day of the 51st Princesa Sofía Mallorca

This Saturday  ends the 51st Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca.

The Catalans Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman face the last assault as solid leaders of 470 Mixed and top candidates for the title among the Spanish squad. Pilar Lamadrid (second in iQFOiL Women) and the tandem Diego Botín and Florian Trittel (fourth in 49er) are also competing with options to aspire to victory. Gisela Pulido is seventh in Formula Kite Women and will fight for a place in the final.

The penultimate competition day of the 51 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca completed the selection of the teams that will compete for the title, reducing the number of candidates in all classes. The 49erFX and Nacra 17 mathematically already have champions. Tomorrow all except iQFOiL and Formula Kite will compete in a Medal Race format, which will debut a new system that will be resolved in a final between the three (for iQFOiL) and the four (in Formula Kite) best in each category.

470 Mixed: Xammar/Brugman, best Spanish asset
The fifth day of mixed 470 class competition was resolved with two tests in each group. A double ration that allowed the Catalans Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman to consolidate a deserved leadership in the Gold Group by adding their fourth partial victory of the week and a fifth. They enter the Medal Race with a lead of 16 points over their direct rivals, the Germans Luise Wanser and Philipp Autenrieth. It would be enough for them to sign an eighth to proclaim themselves champions.

49er and 49erFX: Loot and Trittel, with options
Diego Botín and Florian Trittel enter the Medal Race from fourth position in the 49er class. The Cantabrian-Catalan couple signed the most discreet day of the week (14 + 23 + 11), facing the final day with a seven-point disadvantage against the third and 29 against the French Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin, the leaders of the provisional.

In 49erFX, it was enough for the Dutch Odile Van Aanholt and Annette Duetz to sign some partials of 1+6+4 to close the battle with the double Olympic champions Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze, and they have secured the title after leading 20 points to the Brazilian ones. Mathematically, none of their rivals can beat their score and tomorrow they will lift the champions’ trophy. Galician Patricia Suárez and Canarian María Cantero were left out of the Medal Race (sixteenth) after having to retire in the last race of the day due to a mishap at the start.

iQFOiL: Lamadrid, direct to the semifinal
The iQFOiL competition format is peculiar. According to the sailing instructions, the leader of the classification at the end of the penultimate day (today) goes directly to the final, the second and third to the semi-final, and the next seven compete for two places in that semi-final. Two boats will come out of that semifinal to compete with the current leader: Britain’s Andrew Brown in iQFOiL Men and France’s Hélène Noesmoen in iQFOiL Women. Among the Spanish participants, the Sevillian Pilar Lamadrid arrived at port today as second classified in the women’s category, which guarantees her to compete directly in the semifinal.

Formula Kite: Gisela will fight for a place in the final
The first Formula Kite final in the history of the Princesa Sofía Mallorca will be played between the top three finishers in each category. Theo de Ramecourt and Benoit Gómez from France are guaranteed their places in Formula Kite Men, and the French Lauriane Lorot and the American Daniela Moroz in Formula Kite Women. The identity of the third component of each final will be known at the end of a brief but intense league that will be played tomorrow between the third to fourteenth places in each category. Gisela Pulido from Barcelona earned the right to compete for that place after returning to port today in seventh position in Formula Kite Women.

Nacra 17: Title for the Olympic champions
The Italians Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti are the winners of the 51st Princesa Sofía Mallorca in the Nacra 17 class. The Olympic champions dominated their rivals from the first day, with eight partial victories out of a possible twelve and a third as worst result. They completed the penultimate day of competition with a lead of 24 points over their immediate pursuers, so mathematically they already have the Mallorcan gold guaranteed.

ILCA: Victory for Sarah Douglas
It was enough for Sarah Douglas to score a sixth and a first to confirm her absolute victory in ILCA 6. The Canadian dominated her 88 rivals throughout the week and heads into the Medal Race with the largest advantage in the entire fleet: 25 points over the British Hannah Shellgrove. Ana Moncada has been the best classified Spanish: twenty-eighth.

Michael Beckett was the best of the day at ILCA 7, with a second and a first. The Briton leads the provisional for the Medal Race, with a nine-point advantage over the German Philipp Buhl. Joaquín Blanco from the Canary Islands finished his participation in the Sofía Mallorca in thirteenth position.

On a logistical level, tomorrow the reduction of the fleet will concentrate the action in four regatta areas (compared to the eight of the previous days), with regatta starting at 11:30 a.m. The awards ceremony for the 51st Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca will be held at 8:00 p.m. in Ses Voltes.

The 51st Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca will be held from April 1 to 9 under the joint organization of the Club Nàutic S’Arenal, the Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa, the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, the Balearic Sailing Federation and World Sailing (the international sailing federation), with the support of the main Balearic public institutions.

All the information is available through the event website (www.trofeoprincesasofia.org) and the official APP.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION 51 TROPHY SAR PRINCESA SOFIA MALLORCA
Friday, April 8

470 Mixed
1.- Jordi Xammar/Nora Brugman, ESP
2.- Luise Wanser/Philipp Autenrieth GER
3.- Kevin Peponnet/Aloise Retornaz, FRA

49er
1.- Erwan Fischer/Clement Pequin, FRA
2.- Ian Barrows/Hans Henken, USA
3.- Mikolaj Staniul/Jakub Sztorch, POL

49erFX
1.- Odile Van Aanholt/Annette Duetz, NED
2.- Martine Grael/Kahena Kunze, BRA
3.- Isaura Maenhaut/Anouk Geurts, BEL

Formula Kite Men
1.- Theo De Ramecourt, FRA
2.- Benoit Gómez, FRA
3.- Connor Bainbridge, GBR

Formula Kite Women
1.- Lauriane Nolot, FR
2.- Daniela Moroz, USA
3.- Ellie Aldridge, GBR

ILCA 6
1.- Sarah Douglas, CAN
2.- Hannah Snellgrove, GBR
3.- Vasileia Karachaliou, GRE

ILCA 7
1.- Michael Beckett, GBR
2.- Philipp Buhl, GER
3.- Matt Wearn, AUS

iQFOiL Men
1.- Andrew Brown, GBR
2.- Luuc Van Opzeeland, NED
3.- Nicolò Renna, ITA

iQFOiL Women
1.- Helene Noesmoen, FRA
2.- Pilar Lamadrid, ESP
3.- Daniela Peleg, ISR

Pearl 17
1.- Ruggero Tita/Caterina Banti, ITA
2.- Sinem Kurtbay/Akseli Keskinen, END
3.- John Gimson/Anna Burnet, GBR