2025 Formula Wing World Championships, Sardinia, Italy - Day 2
by WingFoil Racing World Cup 25 Sep 23:07 BST
23-28 September 2025
Mistral conditions on day two - 2025 Formula Wing Worlds Sardinia © IWSA media / Robert Hajduk
Day two of the Formula Wing World Championships in Cagliari, Sardinia, delivered five short-course races and a whole range of emotions across the 93-strong international fleet.
In the men's competition Kamil Manowiecki was coming in hot from a victory earlier this month on the delta of the Yangtze River at the WingFoil Racing World Cup China. But on the Mediterranean waters of south Sardinia the Pole seems out of sorts.
Not yet in pole position
"I didn't feel good with my equipment today and I find myself fighting to stay up rather than fighting for first position. Something needs to change, I'm just not sure what," he said, sitting in 10th overall.
Just one place ahead of Manowiecki is a newcomer to wingfoil racing, Grae Morris from Australia. Then again, he is an Olympic silver medallist from windsurfing at the Paris 2024 Games, so he's not unfamiliar with the pressure of competing on high-speed foil boards.
"It's quite a weird pressure being around the wing foiling environment," said the Australian at the start of the day. "For me, it's good practice for my Olympic campaign, because it's different racing. There's very high-skilled athletes here, really good at racing. And it's pushing me to a different level than I've been pushed on the iQFOiL. And so in the long term, it's all for the Olympic campaign. Right now, technically, I'm on a break, but I'm super happy I made the decision to come here and get some more racing done in a bit of a different scene."
Morris minor
By the end of the day, dropping from third to ninth overall, and Morris was questioning his choice of holiday destination. "I pushed myself quite hard and in the lighter winds it really showed my mistakes and the things I'm not very good at," he laughed self-mockingly. "I gave a lot away and I was quite underpowered, so it was a good learning experience and a good bit of training." A retirement in one race was down to the sheer level of effort he was putting in. "I went swimming a few times," he said. "So I decided to keep my energy for the next race."
Also coming from downunder is New Zealand's up and coming talent, Sean Herbert, sitting in fifth overall. "In that late session I managed to win a race and get a fourth in the other," he said. "Not too shabby, I've got two bankers and tomorrow we get into the Gold Fleet racing so the fleet will be more condensed and the competition a bit more intense."
Right wing, wrong wing
Part of the challenge of Formula Wing - after getting used to an open selection of equipment - is where to make your choice of wing size, as the USA's JP Lattanzi explained. "Not everyone is on the wings that they want to be on. There's pretty big differences in the sizes that we can use and the gap between what most people usually use is pretty crucial.
"Today I used the 5.5 in the early session and in the afternoon I was on my 7.0 and it worked out pretty well for me today. But I think there's a lot of guys going around on wings that they aren't completely happy with."
Italian Ernesto de Amiciis is pretty happy with his wing selection though. His problem was more the Sardinian sunshine. "I was leading a race this afternoon but on the downwind with the sun in my eyes I couldn't manage to see anything. I gybed but then I saw I was so much over the lay line and Freddie [Strawson, GBR] passed me. But I'm happy with my day. My goal is to be in the top nine," said the teenager, currently in eighth overall.
Front four females
In the women's fleet Maddalena Spanu continues to dominate, the Italian 18-year-old winning most of her races. Behind her there's a tight three-way battle for the next places, between Vaina Picot (FRA), Karolina Kluszczynska (POL) and Aimilia Kosti (GRE). Some way back from the front four but still enjoying a good day on the water was Czech rider Kristyna Chalupnikova who sits in sixth place behind Germany's Jette Koep.
"I'm pretty tired," said the Czech rider. "I think I'll sleep well tonight. Through the door of my apartment and straight to bed! On the water I think my heart rate was up around 180 most of the time. When the wind is below 10 knots it's super hard and I tried my best to keep on the foil, which I managed to do, so I'm happy. But definitely tired."
The women keep on racing in their same group on Friday, while the men are regrouped into gold, silver and bronze fleets for the next phase of competition.
Racing takes place out of Poetto Beach in Cagliari from 24 to 28 September. Results are updated as they happen, racing is being tracked, and the final days will be live streamed on FaceBook and YouTube. For all the updates, and exclusive content, follow @wingfoilracing on social media.
More information and results here.