(Palma de Mallorca, Spain)- The 30th Copa del Rey Audi Mapfre regatta
started spectacularly. The racers were greeted with the fabulous (and
famous) "Palma conditions" of 10-15 knots onshore, with the stunning
backdrop of the famous hills, city and cathedral behind them. And, it
was ultimately to the liking of Spanish Olympic Gold Medallist Jose
Maria van der Ploeg and his son on FACTOR-Energia.
On the first day of sailing, the reigning J-80 World Champion Ignacio
Camino sailed his renowned NEXTEL ENGINEERING perfectly, dominating the
day with two bullets, continuing on his roll from winning the recent
J/80 Worlds in Copenhagen, Denmark. Also on this day, the two-times
Star Class World Champion Tono Gorostegui was second, after a sixth and a
second place and Jose María Van der Ploeg's FACTOR-Energia was third.
Bythe second day of racing, it was clear the sailors were loving the
"classic" Palma conditions. The sailors again saw perfect sailing
conditions, and a sea breeze - known as "Embat" in the local
lingua-franca - from 10 to 12 knots established soon after noon and
reached 10 to 12 knots. Within the J-80 fleet Jose María van der
Ploeg's FACTOR-Energia pulled up to first after finishing second in both
races. The Olympic Spanish sailor is accompanied by his eleven year old
son Jose María Van der Ploeg Jr aboard, the youngest sailor of the 30th
edition of the Copa del Rey Audi Mapfre. World champion Nextel
Engineering could only manage a third and a fifth on this day.
With just two races to go, things looked tight in the J-80 fleet, for
the three first boats where just three points apart. NEXTEL ENGINEERING
was leader after ten races, tied in points with FACTOR-Energia and
followed by Javier Aguado`s CROCS. In the first race the first two boats
challenged each other in the center of the race area, but after the
first tacks Camino went to the right hand side and her title was gone.
In a low pressure, she saw herself sink in the pack, with FACTOR-Energia
sitting on top and maintaining that position until the finish. Van der
Ploeg came into the last race with a six point cushion, and didn`t take
any risks in the second, finishing fourth, thus clinching his second
Copa del Rey after his 2007 victory. CROCS got the prize for consistency
with a third and a first place, whereas MAPFRE took the other win of
the day. Sailing photo credits- Nico Martinez For more Copa del Rey Audi Mapfre sailing information
