Finn European Masters Championship 2026 at Los Alcazares - Day 3
by Robert Deaves 21 Oct 19:33 BST
16-23 October 2026
Tibor Pallay took the only race possible in further light winds on Day 3 of the 2026 Finn European Masters at Los Alcazares, on the Mar Menor in Spain.
Filipe Silva remains in the overall lead for the third consecutive day with Valerian Lebrun now only three points behind in second. Laurent Hay is up to third. 118 Finn sailors from 20 nations are taking part in Los Alcazares.
To catch up with the series, two races were planned for Wednesday, and brought forward to 11.00 to make the best of the forecast wind. However, the wind was not ready, so after some delay and the two false starts, Race 4 finally got away in 5-7 knots of an offshore shifty breeze that left many leading sailors deep in the fleet.
Simon Percival, from Britain, got the first beat right to lead around from Brazil's Pedro Lodovici and Peter Peet, from the Netherlands. Lebrun rounded fourth and had the lead at the gate, splitting marks with Pallay, who made gains up the second beat to lead around the top. By now the wind was dropping fast and it was a painful run to the finish. Pallay extended nicely for the win with Lebrun crossing second. Allen Burrell, from Britain, made gains upwind and downwind to cross third, with Percival just behind in fourth.
Allen Burrell, "Just one race today because of very light winds and very tricky conditions. I managed to finish third in that race and I'm really pleased with that. I think I was in the top 15 around the windward mark and then up the second beat I got a few more boats and then down the run I gained a couple more and managed to finish third.
"It's a lovely day in the sunshine. It was very tricky. You had to try and stay in the pressure and I think I was a bit lucky there staying in pressure."
Simon Percival, "We had two starts. First one got off for a while, we got to the top mark (and then the race officer pulled it because it was quite a sizable shift to the right, although we had a similar shift on Monday. Then the second start, again a big shift, a bit of a pile-up at the pin end, and the right decision to knock it on the head.
Third time lucky and away we went. I was quite fortunate to get a top mark in the lead, just found some nice pressure, some small lifts in the middle of the race course, but still very light, still very patchy, but good fun.
"We got a race in so I think that's all good and I'm sure the fleet are happy. This is a new boat to me, I know it's good, but I think the problem might be myself. But we'll get there, that's what it's all about, isn't it? Coming here, enjoying it, enjoying the friends and having a good time. Sailing was good fun today."
With four races sailed, the championship is now secure. Up to four more races are possible, though more light winds are expected. The event concludes on Friday.
Results after Day 3: (top ten, 4 races)
1. POR 21 Filipe SILVA 25pts
2. FRA 111 Valerian LEBRUN 28pts
3. FRA 75 Laurent HAY 35pts
4. GBR 790 Nick CRAIG 37pts
5. NED 148 Peter PEET 43pts
6. ESP 161 Miguel FERNÁNDEZ VASCO 46pts
7. HUN 5 Tibor PALLAY 62pts
8. ESP 7 David TEROL ALBALADEJO 64pts
9. HUN 180 Gergely GERENCSER 64pts
10. SUI 7 Christoph BURGER 65pts