2026 Rolex TP52 Worlds Porto Cervo Day 2: Paprec takes the lead
by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 17 Jun 21:32 BST
15-20 June 2026
The tightly-packed TP52 fleet rounding a mark, Rolex TP52 World Championship © Kurt Arrigo / Rolex
The second day of the Rolex TP52 World Championship brought two further races, sailed off Porto Cervo in a breeze of around 8-10 knots from the east-southeast.
In the third race of the world championship – the first of the day – Paprec got away cleanly at the pin end, crossing ahead at the first tack and rounding the windward mark in front, closely followed by Hong Kong-flagged Alpha+ and the Swedish team on Trinity Racing, with Ed Baird on tactics.
This leading trio swapped places at the front throughout the first beat, and despite attempts by Adrian Stead, tactician on Alpha+, to close the gap and take the lead, Paprec held on for the win. Racing was eventful further back in the fleet, with frequent changes in position, surges by some at the expense of others, and boats that started well only to be swallowed up by the chasing fleet.
With 15 highly competitive teams, whoever claims the lead can obviously sail in clean air and decide on their preferred tactics, while those caught in the group are forced to choose between the less favourable side of the course or sailing in the dirty air of the boats ahead.
Race four, the second of the day, saw Alpha+ come out on top ahead of Trinity Racing, with Paprec finishing third to lock in the best overall result of the day. With the wind shifting to the right, the committee boat end seemed favourable, resulting in heavy traffic and a few boats getting away late – Sled among them.
On the first leg, the lead alternated between Alpha+, on the right, and Trinity Racing, who had started in cleaner air at the pin end. The two arrived neck and neck at the first windward mark, before Alpha+ edged ahead and pulled away on the downwind leg. At the leeward gate, Alpha+ rounded first, closely followed by Trinity Racing, and these positions held until the finish.
Gladiator, with Guillermo Parada at the helm, made the most of the wind shift, choosing the right-hand side on the second upwind leg and climbing back to fourth place. No Way Back also rode the same shift from the back of the fleet up to eighth place, securing second place in the provisional overall standings behind Paprec. Sled relinquished their lead after a twelfth-place finish in the final race of the day and now sit in third on 24 points.
The 2026 Rolex TP52 World Championship is organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with the 52 Super Series and the TP52 Class.
Racing resumes tomorrow at 1 p.m. CEST, with winds similar to today's forecast.