MedCup Tuscany

With the Mistral wind peaking at nearly 30 knots at times only one race, the seventh of the Audi Region of Sardinia Trophy Regatta, completed on Friday on the Gulf of Cagliari before the race committee sent the fleet of TP52’s back to the dock in the heart of the capital city of Sardinia.

In the blustery conditions which produced spectacular, top speed racing that peaked with one fantastic adrenaline pumping final run to the finish line in more than 25 knots of wind, it was the cool, composed and slick team on Artemis (SWE), lead by John Kostecki (USA) with owner Torbjorn Tornqvist (SWE) steering which won the race from the rapidly advancing Matador (ARG).

A great, but intense final day of racing took full advantage of the continuing Mistral winds, blowing between 13-17 knots. An early morning start allowed three sharp windward-leeward to be completed by early afternoon.

It was only on the final run of the final race that Hutchinson and the Quantum Racing crew did just enough to beat Mean Machine. Hutchinson and his team aboard Quantum Racing (USA) won a regatta of the 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit for the first time, lifting the Audi Region of Sardinia Trophy.

MedCup Tuscany

While Italy’s Vasco Vascotto and the crew of Mutua Madrileña scored themselves a morale boosting pair of victories around today’s 32.7 miles, two-part coastal race into the Gulf of Angels, the bay immediately to the east of Cagliari, it was the steady perfomance of Quantum Racing which sees them at the top of both the overall leader-board for this Audi Region of Sardinia Trophy and the season long Audi MedCup Circuit.

Quantum Racing were fifth in the first section of the race and then managed to overhaul Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis on an exciting last couple of miles to the finish, and steal the fourth place which was enough to give them a two points lead in the regatta ahead of Mean Machine and a wafer thin 0.2 point lead on the Audi MedCup Circuit.

But Jose Cusi’s Bribon had a good day too, with two second places to atone for a slightly disappointing Wednesday.

With the early breeze remaining light, 6-8 knots for most of the first ten or twelve miles, it was only on the five miles beat. Later on the sea breeze started to flex its muscles a little more, rising to 11-12 knots at times. But it was largely on that first, opening beat when the shape of the race was really set, and even by the first mark there was already 8 minutes and 20 seconds - a lifetime in the usual scheme of TP52 racing - between Mutua Madrileña and the 13th placed boat. MM broke their masthead crane just before the start of the first regatta, impairing their tuning and training. Then in Marseille, their regatta ended prematurely when their hull sustained damage at the first mark of the Coastal Race.