Countdown To 2014 Audi Melges 20 Worlds
by Joy Dunigan 23 Aug 2014 12:48 BST
25-30 August 2014
On Monday, the commencement of the second Audi Melges 20 World Championship will take place with a record-breaking entry of 55 teams expected to participate in the four-day racing affair. The Italian fleet is the largest in attendance with additional representation from Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Monaco, Russia and the United States.
As of late, Riva del Garda has been the centre of International Melges Class racing. The Audi Melges 20 held its fourth act of the 2014 Audi-Tron Sailing Series in Riva during late July. The World Championship is organized by B.Plan Sports&Events and Fraglia Vela Riva, with the full support and coordination of Melges Europe and the International Audi Melges 20 Class Association (IAM20CA). It will serve as the fifth and final event of the Melges 20 Audi-Tron Sailing Series in 2014.
With a quick review of the entry roster, who will be the next World Champion is difficult to predict. The winner of a World Championship by definition is one who defies conventional logic and dynamics, handles intense concentration and management of psychological pressure to deliver consistency in performance. These factors make anything possible, and for certain will add new stories to the already prestigious, on-going legacy that is the Audi Melges 20.
However, there are the standouts and among them are reigning World Champion John Taylor on Ninkasi, current World Ranking leader Wes Whitmyer on Slingshot, current European Ranking leader and International Class Chairman Manfredi Vianini Tolomei on Maolca, and North American Ranking leader Richard Davies on Section 16. Other potential teams to beat (but certainly not limited to) include Guido Miani's Monaco Racing Fleet in pole position who won Sailing Series Act No. 4 last month in Riva, Audi-Tron Series leader and former Gold Cup Champion Dario Levi on Fremito D'Arja, Pasquale Orofino's Raffica, and Achille Onorato on Mascalzone Latino Jr.
And, then there are the great underdogs who are more than worth cheering for. Russ Lucas on Shimmer, Paul Reilly on Red Sky, 2014 Russian Open Champion Valentin Zavadnikov on Synergy, Alexandr Ezhkov's Pirogovo Sailing, Mirko de Falco's Peccere, Francesco Farnetti on ITA-157 and Alessandro Rombelli's STIG all have the potential to be the next World Champion of the Audi Melges 20 Class.
Another exciting notable as the championship draws close is the attendance of 11-year-old Liam Kilroy. Earlier in 2014, the North American fleet welcomed the young son of 2013 U.S. National Champion John Kilroy, to the competitive ring. He will race his Audi Melges 20 Wildman in his first World Championship ever.
melges20.com