2015 Melges 20 European Championship at Trapani, Italy - Day 2
by International Audi Melges 20 Class Association 5 Sep 2015 01:15 BST
3-5 September 2015
Movin' and Shakin'
Four more races, four more individual winners and stakes are high as final day of competition approaches
Four additional races were held on Day Two of the the 2015 European Championship/Audi-Tron Sailing Series Act 5 organized by B.Plan Sport & Events (BPSE) in cooperation with Melges Europe, bringing the number of completed heats to eight. Leading the thirty-two strong fleet by a substantial twenty points, Dario Levi's Fremito D'Arja delivered a crushing performance, ending the day with a 1-3-2 and a 13, which served as his discard (effective after six races).
"We are very excited to be watching the grand finale with a certain degree of calmness, especially since the last two days of racing have been very physical," said Niccolo Bianchi, tactician aboard Levi's Fremito D'Arja. "Despite the fact that we have sailed very well, the overall standings prove that the competition is very intense amongst this incredible gathering of more than thirty Audi Melges 20s!"
Hanging tough, moving up four places in the overall standings is Corrado Agusta's Customly listed in second place. Russia's Vladimir Prosikhi on Nika had a banner day moving up from eighth to third overall.
Immediately Levi and team showed their strength by winning Race Five, the first race of the day. In full chase was Matteo Marenghi Vaselli on Lucifer who came second, followed by Igor Rytov's RUS-296 in third.
Geoff Carveth aboard the event sponsored Audi G-Tron Fratelli Giacomel took top honours in Race Six. Prosikhi proved he was getting warmed up nicely finishing second, with Levi in third.
Prosikhi called it perfectly in Race Seven to take the win wire-to-wire, however his lead did not go unchallenged. All race long he held off a tenacious Levi, Rytov, Agusta and Valentin Zavadnikov's Synergy GT for the win.
With the breeze pumping in nicely, Race Eight welcomed Guido Miani's Out of Reach to the front of the line. Miani commanded the fleet around the track defending against Wes Whitmyer's Slingshot, Agusta and Japan's Norikatsu Aizawa's Contious. In the end Miani took the win, Whitmyer came second followed by Aizawa. Yuriy Morozov on Russotrans and Agusta rounded out the top five respectively.
The fleet was definitely on the move today. Besides top finisher Levi, there was great advancement for some, while others slid down the ranks. For example, Agusta graduated the day up six places on the scoreboard potentially granting him podium honours. Prosikhi advanced five spots, while Rytov soared from fifteenth to fourth overall!
On the other end of the spectrum, Mirko De Falco's Peccere went from second to tenth after a tough day on the race course. Oleg Evdokimenko on Kotyara found it hard to keep up falling from fourth to ninth.
From the looks of the scoreboard, more move ups and shake ups are possible tomorrow. Only a few points separate third thru ninth positions.
More racing continues on Saturday, the final day of competition in Trapani.
Media and Racing Coverage
As with other Audi Melges 20 events in Europe and around the world, racing updates will be posted online at the Official Audi Melges 20 Facebook Page. Tune in for the latest racing information, results, video interviews, and photos. Race reports, press releases and photos will be made available online each day post racing at melges20.com.
Live Streaming
The 2015 Audi Melges 20 European Championship will be streamed live with Italian and English commentary by Zerogradinord and BPSE. Racing commences on Thursday, so be sure to visit this viewing link for all the action!
Results after Day 2: (top ten, 8 races)
1.) Dario Levi, Fremito D' Arja; 4-1-2-8-1-3-2-[13] = 21pts
2.) Agusta Corrado, Customly; 5-2-[19]-12-5-5-7-5 = 41pts
3.) Vladimir Prosikhi, Nika; [21]-11-5-3-12-2-1-17 = 51pts
4.) Igor Rytov, RUS-296; 3-8-18-[20]-3-10-3-6 = 51pts
5.) Guido Miani, Out of Reach; 2-13-1-5-16-15-[17]-1 = 53pts
6.) Matteo Marenghi Vaselli, Lucifer; [13]-10-11-4-2-7-8-11 = 53pts
7.) Yuriy Morozov, Russotrans; [23]-16-6-1-11-4-12-4 = 54pts
8.) Geoff Carveth, Audi G-Tron F.lli Giacomel; 9-5-10-6-8-1-15-[20] = 54pts
9.) Oleg Evdokimenko, Kotyara; 10-7-3-9-[26]-9-6-10 = 54pts
10.) Mirko de Falco, Peccere; 6-6-4-2-17-11-[22]-14 = 60pts
In addition to main sponsor Audi, the Audi-Tron Sailing Series is supported by official sponsors Kuehne+Nagel, Technical Partners Torqeedo, Caffe Vergnano, Bavaria, Usail, Nuova Jolly and The Suite Club.