Practice races lost to lack of breeze ahead of windy 52 Super Series finale on Costa Smeralda

52 Super Series Porto Cervo 2025 © Nico Martinez / 52 Super Series

Although there was just enough breeze to execute a couple of meaningful practice starts, the breeze dropped away and thereafter proved insufficient to allow the planned two short official practice races to be sailed today off Porto Cervo, the eve of the final event of the 2025 52 SUPER SERIES season, Sardinia's 52 SUPER SERIES - Porto Cervo - Range Rover regatta.

Even for the teams which have been practising at full strength over this past weekend, the loss of the last 'dress rehearsal' races is something of a disappointment. But it is arguably more of a disadvantage for the likes of Tina and Hasso Plattner's Phoenix team whose key afterguard members, Tom Slingsby, Will Ryan and Kyle Langford only arrived overnight from Geneva.

After landing back ashore at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda this afternoon Slingsby said, "It would have been really good to get a practice race as the last time I sailed a non foiling boat was when I was last with Phoenix in 2022. So it did feel a bit like I was a beginner again today! But really it is great to be back with this team and to be here. It is an accomplished team, a great team. I will make mistakes this week for sure, but everyone is supportive, I am so looking forwards to it."

"Honestly I have not even thought about results. The team is strong and there is no reason why we can't get a good result. I think we want to enjoy ourselves."

And any extra to practice in race mode for teams which have made late season changes to their line ups would also have been especially welcomed. Runners up in the 2023 season, Ergin Imre's Provezza crew have brought Argentina's three times Olympic medallist Santi Lange into the race team from the coach boat. Lange, who clinched the 52 SUPER SERIES circuit title here in 2019 as tactician with Azzurra, will sail as strategist and operate the runners whilst Cole Parada moves forward to take on the tactician's role.

"The team felt we needed to make a change and here we are. We owe Ergin much better results and we are making this change to see how it goes, how it feels. It makes sense to make changes now in advance of next season and if we feel we need to make more changes we will do so. We are giving this a trial to see how it goes." Explains Cole Parada, the new tactician.

Lange adds, "Obviously it is not easy to make a change like this in the season but we have to make sure we are as competitive as we can be. It's unfortunate not to race today as right now every minute counts, even doing the runners here takes time to learn, so it would have been great to have raced today."

Although there was not enough wind today to allow practice racing, a windy week is in prospect for the 2025's season finale.

"We need to set up to be flexible to race when the conditions are best." Cautions Maria Torrijo, principal race officer.

Thirteen teams representing nine different nations race from Tuesday to Saturday. Doug DeVos is back at the helm of American Magic Quantum Racing which leads the circuit standings by 41pts ahead of Takashi Okura's Sled. Italy's Alkedo Vitamina Sailing (Andrea Lacorte) holds third by just 2.5pts ahead of an all-French line up on Paprec led by Loick Peyron.