Second edition of Elements Race sailing-rally biathlon in Italy

Second edition of Elements Race sailing-rally biathlon in Italy © Elements Race

The second edition of Elements Race ended on Sunday, 24th of September after 4 challenging days of sailing and off-road navigation in the extraordinary scenarios of the Maddalena archipelago and Gallura inland, in Italy.

Two days sailing on the J70 one-design and two days off-road on CFMoto and OXO ATVs. Participants from Russia, Switzerland and Italy joined the unique challenge where the final ranking was a sum of points earned in both sailing and off-road stages.

This edition of Elements Race saw the Swiss CVLL team return for the second year in a row, captained by ocean single-handed sailor Andrea Rossi, and team Seawolves first participation with 2 match-race sailors from Sochi and Anastasya Nifontova, Cross Country World Cup winner in 2015.

At the end of the games team CVLL took first overall with a narrow three point lead over team Seawolves.

On sea

During Regatta 1 on the 21st September participants immediately found the ideal conditions to test their skills on board the J70s. With a north westerly breeze of 15knots and gusts just under 20knots, the race covered a distance of around 10Nm starting in Stagno Torto (north of Maddalena island) and finishing in Porto Pollo.

Strategy became immediately critical as CVLL chose a central route in the channel between Maddalena and Spargi whilst Seawolves kept the west coast of the Maddalena Island. The central route soon turned to be the better choice giving CVLL the win of the Regatta.

After day 2 on land the teams are back in the water on the 23rd with 2 Regattas for a total of 25Nm which will take them from Porto Pollo all the way to Porto Cervo in Costa Smeralda.

Regatta 1 was dominated by a very light breeze whilst Regatta 2 was disputed in a generous East-South-East wind and slight wave conditions.

Once again it was CVLL who took home both victories and another 4 points in the general ranking.

Second edition of Elements Race sailing-rally biathlon in Italy - photo © Elements Race

On land

In the off-road section, the teams had to navigate 2 stages for a total of over 200km with Start and Finish in Porto Pollo. Each team of 4 people was divided into couples and had to cover the distance twice, in the morning and afternoon sessions. Maximum concentration to follow the Roadbook notes and take the ATV to the finish minimizing the mistakes.

In the first 100km stage, it was once again the Luganese team to hit the bull's eye with zero overall mistakes, whilst on the 24th it was the Russian team with Anastasya Nifontova behind the steering wheel who took the 4 points.

"The off-road routes of 2017" – states team CVLL – "have been more technical compared to last year's and the choice of using the J70 one-design resulted in very fast racing on sea. We are extremely happy with our performance and overall victory!"

"We are extremely satisfied", says Guglielmo Fontana-Rava co-founder of Elements Race. "This year we benefitted from the experience of 2016 and could improve the race in every aspect of its mix. Both in water and on land the technical level has grown with the use of J70 one-design on one side and with the introduction of Bearing-notes in the roadbook navigation. We have already started working on 2018 with the target of raising the bar once again and providing an unrivalled experience for our participants."

"Elements Race is becoming more and more international," concludes the other co-founder Danil Kuzvesov."We were extremely happy to see world class rally pilots and sailors compete in this new context having to endure both elements of the race. Our event is building its own reputation as a new and unique sport in the panorama of Adventure Competition."

The organisation could rely on the strategic support of DrivEvent with the presence of Rudy Briani (seven times at the Dakar Rally), Orza Vela for the regatta organisation and logistics, and Lega Vela Servizi for the supply of the J70 fleet.

The role of the Sponsors was once again critical to the success of the event; Caffé Veloce, Captec and the Official Timekeeper Terra Cielo Mare which offered once again four Elements Race marked Orienteering timepieces as prize for the overall winners.

elementsrace.com

Overall results:

1 – CVLL (15 points)
2 – SEAWOLVES (12 points)
3 – COLCHICUM (7 points)
4 – WATCHMEN (6 points)