The last day of competition confirmed the 470 Mixed title for the Spaniards Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman, the new world leader in the new mixed crew class.
The 51st Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca came to an end with an exciting final day in which the Bay of Palma once again reaffirmed its status as an excellent regatta course.
After five days of intense competition, the best of each class took to the water today to finish the job in a combination of Medal Races for all classes (reserved for the top ten, and with double points) except for the new iQFOiL and Formula Kite, which premiered an interesting qualifying system to define the field for an exciting final.
As the first qualifying race for the Hempel World Cup Series 2022, the 51 Princesa Sofia Mallorca was the starting gun to begin to define the list of favourites in the race towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
470 Mixed: Xammar/Brugman, new world reference
The Catalans Jordi Xammar and Nora Brugman achieved a well-deserved title in the premiere of the 470 mixed category.
The Tokyo 2020 470 Men bronze medallist and his new crew capped an excellent week of racing with a fourth in the Medal Race, more than enough to become champions, 17 points ahead of Italy’s Giacomo Ferrari/Bianca Caruso and 22 points ahead of France’s Kevin Peponnet/Aloise Retornaz in third. The Spanish tandem is now officially the world leader in the new 470 Mixed.
49er y 49erFX: Botín y Trittel, fourth
Diego Botín and Florian Trittel faced the 49er Medal Race from fourth position and real podium options. But an eighth in the final race put an end to the Spaniards’ aspirations, who finished their participation in fourth place. The title went to France’s Erwan Fischer and Clément Pequin, followed by the Americans Iam Barrows/Hans Henken and Poland’s Mikolaj Staniul/Jakub Sztorch.
In 49erFX, Dutch pair Odile Van Aanholt and Annette Duetz took to the water with the title secured. In the fight for silver, London and Tokyo Olympic champions Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze from Brazil won the Medal Race to take silver in Mallorca. Rounding out the podium were Italy’s Jana Germani/Giorgia Bertuzzi, who crossed the finish line of today’s final behind the Brazilians.
iQFOiL: Lamadrid, runner-up
The debut of iQFOiL in the Olympic race confirmed the spectacular nature of this new class of flying windsurfing. A debut in which Pilar Lamadrid from Seville presented her credentials for Paris 2024 glory with a convincing second place finish in the women’s iQFOiL Women category. She was only beaten by the 2021 World and European champion, France’s Hélène Noesmoen. Poland’s Maia Dziarnowska finished third.
In the men’s iQFOiL Men, the title went to Great Britain’s Andrew Brown, followed by Italy’s Nicolò Renna and the Netherlands’ Luuc Van Opzeeland.
Formula Kite: Gisela Pulida, fifth
The Formula Kite podium was settled in a qualifying group that defined the four components of an exciting final for the medals. In Formula Kite Men there were no surprises, and the title went to Frenchman Theo de Ramecourt, who took advantage of this last race to take his 14th partial victory of the week and become the first champion of the class in the history of the Sofia. His compatriot Benoit Gomez was second and Britain’s Connor Bainbridge third.
In Formula Kite Women, the winner was the American Daniela Moroz. The reigning world champion had to prevail in the final to win a hard-fought title against France’s Lauriane Nolot and Great Britain’s Ellie Aldridge. The Catalan Gisela Pulido completed her participation in a magnificent fifth position after a week in which she showed a constant progression.
Nacra 17: Champions until the end
The Nacra 17 Medal Race was a battle for second place after Italy’s Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti confirmed their title on the previous day. But the current Olympic champions decided not to slow the pace, also winning the Medal Race to say goodbye to the Bay of Palma with nine victories out of a possible 12 and a third as the worst partial, a record that allowed them to be crowned as absolute winners of the 51 Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca. They were followed on the class podium by Finland’s Sinem Kurtba and Akseli Keskinen, and Great Britain’s John Gimson and Anna Burnet.
ILCA: Titles for Becket and Douglas
The young Briton Michael Beckett is the new British champion of the ILCA 7 after winning in the bay of Palma against some of the class leaders, including the current Olympic champion in Tokyo, the Australian Matt Wearn, who finished second after an excellent progression from a disappointing first day. The podium was rounded off by 2020 world champion Philipp Buhl of Germany.
In ILCA 6, Canada’s Sarah Douglas had already secured the title with one day to go, so the excitement in the Medal Race shifted to the battle for silver between Great Britain’s Hannah Snellgrove and Greece’s Vasileia Karachaliou. Snellgrove won the duel to become runner-up.
Absolute title for Tita and Banti
Since its origins in 1968, the Princess Sofia Mallorca awards the best sailor of each edition, whose name will be engraved on the base of a perpetual trophy donated by H.M. Queen Sofia. Thanks to their excellent performance during the regatta, the Italians Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti join a select club of sporting legends such as Sir Ben Ainslie (2011), Theresa Zabell and Begoña Vía Dufresne (1995), Jordi Calafat and Kiko Sánchez Luna (1989), Santi Lange and Miguel Saubidet (1986 and 1987), and Alejandro Abascal and Miquel Noger (1979).
The 51 Princesa Sofia Mallorca bids farewell reaffirming its status as a benchmark among Olympic class regattas. A huge event involving more than a thousand sailors of 62 nationalities on board nearly 800 boats in ten classes, including the historic debut of the iQFOiL and Formula Kite in the Olympic race. A huge logistical effort that once again demonstrated the coordination between the three organising clubs (Club Nàutic S’Arenal, Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa and Real Club Náutico de Palma), together with the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, the Balearic Sailing Federation, World Sailing, and the support of the Balearic public institutions and sponsors such as Iberostar, Trasmed and OK Mobility.
FINAL CLASSIFICATION 51 TROFEO SAR PRINCESS SOFIA MALLORCA TROPHY
470 Mixed
1.- Jordi Xammar/Nora Brugman, ESP
2.- Giacomo Ferrari/Bianca Caruso ITA
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.- Jana Germani/Giorgia Bertuzzi, ITA
Formula Kite Men
1.- Theo De Ramecourt, FRA
2.- Benoit Gómez, FRA
3.- Connor Bainbridge, GBR
Formula Kite Women
1.- Daniela Moroz, USA
2.- Lauriane Nolot, FRA
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.- Matt Wearn, AUS
3.- Philipp Buhl, GER
iQFOiL Men
1.- Andrew Brown, GBR
2.- Nicolò Renna, ITA
3.- Luuc Van Opzeeland, NED
iQFOiL Women
1.- Helene Noesmoen, FRA
2.- Pilar Lamadrid, ESP
3.- Maja Dziarnowska, POL
NACRA 17
1.- Ruggero Tita/Caterina Banti, ITA
2.- Sinem Kurtbay/Akseli Keskinen, FIN
3.- John Gimson/Anna Burnet, GBR
Overall Champion 51 Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofía Mallorca
– Ruggero Tita/Caterina Banti, ITA
Source: Communication Office of the 51st Princess Sofia Trophy Mallorca
Images: Villegas Photo