Young Azzurra in Malcesine for first Persico 69F Cup Grand Prix of 2021
by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 29 Apr 2021 15:14 BST
30 April - 2 May 2021
Young Azzurra training in Malcesine, Lake Garda before Grand Prix 1 of the Persico 69F Cup © Marta Rovatti Studihrad / 69F Media
Young Azzurra will take part in the first leg of the Grand Prix 1 in the Persico 69F Cup from tomorrow, 30 April, through 2 May.
This will be the second sporting event of the year for the YCCS team, which finished in second place in the first international leg of the Youth Foiling Gold Cup in March.
The Young Azzurra team - composed of skipper Ettore Botticini, flight controller Federico Colaninno and the two mainsail trimmers who alternate on board, Francesca Bergamo and Erica Ratti - will also be training with new coach Gabriele Bruni from this regatta.
Currently the Italian Sailing Federation coach for the national Olympic team in the Nacra 17, the foiling catamaran for mixed crew, Bruni's career highlights include the Sydney Olympics on the 49er, the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia with +39 Challenge, and strategist with the relaunched Azzurra project at the Louis Vuitton Trophy in 2008/09, winning the leg in Nice, France. The new coach will also prepare Young Azzurra for the second leg of the Youth Foiling Gold Cup, scheduled for Limone, Lake Garda from 13 to 26 August.
"On behalf of the YCCS and the Young Azzurra team I would like to thank coach Enrico Zennaro, who has trained the Young Azzurra team up until now, taking them to their current level of competitive performance. At the same time, I am pleased to welcome new coach Gabriele Bruni to this adventure. Sport means continuously putting yourself to the test, a constant search for new limits and goals to overcome, which is precisely the spirit of the Young Azzurra sporting project." commented Michael Illbruck, Commodore of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
Training for the Grand Prix 1 resumed on Lake Garda at the beginning of the week, giving the crew and new coach the opportunity to get to know each other better on the water. Racing in the Grand Prix 1 will start tomorrow, 30 April, with the YCCS crew competing against 5 other teams: 2 Swiss, 2 Italians and 1 Belgian.