Sailing Series® Melges 20 at Lake Garda, Italy - Day 2

Sailing Series® Melges 20 in Riva del Garda day 2 © BPSE / Barracudea Communication

Illbruck's 'Pinta' now controls Riva del Garda

Two more races are complete with a new regatta leader standing tall, one more day of great racing yet to unfold

For Day Two, it was a late start due to on- and off-again rain and no breeze which kept teams ashore for a while before getting in two more races at the fourth act of the Sailing Series® Melges 20.

Michael Illbruck's legendary Pinta is now firmly in control with a ten point advantage. A solid 3-3-2 day moves him up from third overall into the number one spot.

Right behind is the ever impressive Liam Kilroy on Wildman. Liam delivered a 6-6-3 scoreline helping him advance from fourth to second place overall.

Guido Miani's Out of Reach maintained a strong stance on the second day of competition submitting a 1-10 score to round out the top three.

The first race of the day, Race Four in a series of eight commenced in 8-10 knots of shifty breeze out of the South with Miani getting a big win. Marco Franchini at the helm of Mezzaluna had a spectacular race to come second and Illbruck played strong to claim third. Although sitting mid-fleet in the overall standings, Lauro Bonora's Camay had a great race to finish fourth, while Talamone Champion Richard Davies on Section 16 finished out the top five.

Russia's Vitaly Ignatenko driving RocknRolla rounded the top mark in first to take an early lead in Race Five followed by Drew Freides' Pacific Yankee in second. Oleg Evdokimenko's Kotyara got off to a great start rounding third, Illbruck fourth and Swiss entry Bernard Borter on Poursuite was fifth. Freides eventually found his way around Ignatenko to take the win. Illbruck stayed consistent to get second, and the young Kilroy came third.

As for overnight leader Alessandro Rombelli, all things changed on Day Two as he tumbled in the results proving that racing in this fleet is not for the faint of heart. Tough competition comes with great reward. A deep finish in Race Four and a better sixth place finish in Race Five drops him to fifth overall, behind Freides in fourth.

The points spread is pretty vast at the top, however things can change drastically considering that discards have yet to go into effect. Although top tier leaders appear to have comfortable leads and positions, it's not over until it's over.

Mirko Bargolini's Spirit of Nerina is holding on to the lead in the Corinthian division with Emanuele Savoini on Evinrude closing the gap significantly on Day Two. They are now tied with equal points going into the final day of competition.

Racing continues on Sunday with three races scheduled. After the completion of six races, each team will discard their worst score, which will ultimately shake things up in the results.

Media and Racing Coverage

As with other Melges 20 events in Europe and around the world, racing updates will be posted online at the Official 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.

Results after Day 2: (top ten, 5 races)

1.) Michael Illbruck, Pinta; 12-4-3-3-2 = 24pts
2.) Liam Kilroy, WildMan; 16-3-6-6-3 = 34pts
3.) Guido Miani, Out of Reach; 32-5-2-1-10 = 50pts
4.) Drew Freides, Pacific Yankee; 6-7-1-45-4 = 60pts
5.) Alessandro Rombelli, Stig; 1-1-9-43-6 = 60pts
6.) Igor Rytov, Russian Bogatyrs; 2-2-35-8-13 = 60pts
7.) Manfredi Vianini Tolomei, Maolca; 5-13-10-7-26 = 61pts
8.) Yuriy Morozov, Russotrans; 11-6-16-22-8 = 63pts
9.) Achille Onorato, Mascalzone Latino Jr.; 4-12-21-10-25 = 72pts
10.) Tina Plattner/Tony Norris, TNT Racing; 3-35-17-9-9 = 73pts

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