Melges 32 Audi-Tron Sailing Series at Loano, Italy - Overall

Rombelli's STIG is the 'First of the Kings'

With the breeze blowing 40 knots and gusting above, no further racing could be completed on the last day of the Melges 32 2015 Audi-Tron Sailing Series Loano edition, an event organized by B.Plan Sports & Events in collaboration with Melges Europe. With this, the results as of Saturday 18 April stand as final.

So, a big congratulations to Alessandro Rombelli, tactician Francesco Bruni and their 100% Italian crew comprised of Pierluigi De Felice, Giorgio Tortarolo, Michele Giovannini, Daniele Fiaschi, Luca Faravelli and Filippo La Mantia - 2015 Melges 32 Audi-Tron Sailing Series Loano Champions.

"I am very happy with our victory. Only a few weeks ago Terry Hutchinson informed us that due to personal matters he could not guarantee his presence at the events this season and so we took a chance and welcomed Francesco aboard with us," said Rombelli. "I think perhaps one other key factor is the presence of Checco and Pierluigi de Felice, also a member of the Luna Rossa team. Giorgio has also done a great job as our team manager."

Standing alongside Rombelli on the podium in second place is Roberto Tomasini Grinover's Robertissima that got back on track after a slow start. Roberto Mazzucato's Margherita performed well to take third. Finishing out the top five are Andrea Ferrari's Spirit of Nerina and Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio on G Spot.

Fast Facts on the First of Kings

Loano has now officially concluded and as we look ahead to future Audi-Tron Sailing Series events, the registered number of competitors is expected to grow. A quick snapshot of the Series reveals already that 66 boats participated originating from 16 countries, welcomed more than 300 sailors that included 6 Olympic Medallists, 3 America's Cup and 1 Volvo Ocean Race sailors, and served over 2,300 Bavarian beers and 2,700 Caffe Vergnano coffees.

Next Up

The International Melges 32 Class Association (IM32CA) moves onto Porto Venere where the "Crowning of Poets" on 15-17 May.

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.

Overall Results: (top ten, 6 races, 1 discard)

1.) Alessandro Rombelli/Francesco Bruni, STIG; [7]-4-3-2-1-1 = 11pts
2.) Roberto Tomasini Grinover/Vasco Vascotto, Robertissima; 1-8-[16]-1-6-2 = 18pts
3.) Roberto Mazzucato/Gabriele Benussi, Margherita; 6-1-2-13-[15]-5 = 27pts
4.) Andrea Ferrari/Roberto Spata, Spirit of Nerina; 14-2-6-[16]-2-4 = 28pts
5.) Giangiacomo Serena di Lapagio/Branko Brcin, G Spot; 4-6-8-4-7-[9] = 29pts
6.) Dalton DeVos/Jonathan McKee, Delta; 3-16-1-9-[18]-3 = 32pts
7.) Alec Cutler/Cameron Appleton, Hedgehog; 8-5-4-7-8-[16] = 32pts
8.) Fritz Homann/Nicola Celon, Wilma;9-[18]-13-3-5-7 = 37pts
9.) Edoardo Pavesio/Diogo Cayolla, FRA MARTINA; [16]-3-9-10-4-12 = 38pts
10.) Andrea LaCorte/Jesper Radich, Vitamina; 2-9-11-6-12-[18] = 40pts

View Full Results