Lighter conditions for yesterday afternoon's race day 5 at the 2017 420 World Championship in Fremantle might have produced some different results, but those who expected a break in the Spanish dominance of the event so far would have been disappointed as Spanish boats finished first second and third in the last race of the 420 Open Fleet, and took victory in both races in the U17 fleet.

420 OPEN
Antoni Massanet, crew of the leading team and reigning 420 Junior European Champions, was over the moon at the end of yesterday's racing, "We are really happy. We've got the Spanish teams going on the podium and we are going to try to win the championships. We are really excited to be first (on points)."

On the subject of weather conditions, he was one of the few visitors who considered it beneficial, reflecting, "We prefer the strong winds, also like the first one (when the wind blew at 24 knots). We are not so used to sailing in winds like today."

Carlos Balaguer and Antoni Massanet started the day with a three point buffer over second place and despite a twelfth in the last race, which they were able to discard, they extended that to four points over compatriots Albert Torres and Francisco Mulet. Australia's Chris Charlwood and Josh Dawson had a forgettable day with a fourth and a disastrous 27th in the final race. Due to equipment failure they missed a race the day before so they have to include yesterday's placings in their total score, slipping down to seventh overall.

420 Open - Results after 10 Races
1. Carlos BALAGUER/Antoni MASSANET (ESP 55947) - 25 pts
2. Albert TORRES/Francisco MULET (ESP 52779) - 29 pts
3. Enrique LUJÁN/Pablo LUJÁN (ESP 56331) - 32 pts
4. Edoardo FERRARO/Francesco ORLANDO (ITA 56278) - 33 pts
5. Thomas ANDRE/Justin BARADAT (FRA 55986) - 39 pts
6. Andrea SPAGNOLLI/Kevin RIO (ITA 56028) - 45 pts
7. Chris CHARLWOOD/Josh DAWSON (AUS 54351) - 52 pts
8. Enzo BALANGER/Gaultier TALLIEU (FRA 56030) - 52 pts
9. Elias ARETZ/Pablo GARCÍA (ESP 56251) - 55 pts
10. Eduard FERRER/Carlos DE MAQUA (ESP 55980) - 61 pts

420 LADIES
The ladies division is still remarkably close with Australian teams Nia Jerwood and Monique de Vries retaining their overall lead over Laura Harding and Ellie Grimshaw in second place, just three points adrift. The Spanish team and reigning 420 Ladies European Champions, Pilar and Maria Caba are third, but 19 points behind second place, so have a daunting task ahead of them.

Coach Allesandro, who has seven crews from three nations in his care (France, Italy and Argentina) was very happy with their performances so far. "They are going very good. They are enjoying the championship and doing very well." On the weather, "Yes, yes, we prefer winds like this because we are not so heavy."

420 Ladies - Results after 10 Races
1. Nia JERWOOD/Monique DE VRIES (AUS 54798) - 17 pts
2. Laura HARDING/Eleanor GRIMSHAW (AUS 55158) - 20 pts
3. María CABA/Pilar CABA (ESP 56246) - 39 pts
4. Sophie MCINTOSH/Orla MULHOLLAND-PATTERSON (AUS 53663) - 47 pts
5. Arianna PASSAMONTI/Giulia FAVA (ITA 56047) - 54 pts
6. Isabel DAVIES/Gemma KEERS (GBR 55517) - 60 pts
7. Sophie JACKSON/Laura THOMSON (AUS 55166) - 67 pts
8. Clara OLIVE/Solenza MARIANI (FRA 56376) - 7 pts
9. Solène MARIANI/Maude SCHMID (SUI 56274) - 80 pts
10. Olívia BELDA/Elisa VON FRITSCH (BRA 54642) - 87 pts

420 U17
To try to predict the outcome of the Under 17 division is akin to trying to pick a lottery winner. Only twelve points separate the first five places. Third placed Martin Wizner and Pedro Ameniero have won their last three races in succession in a variety of wind conditions and if they emulate that performance on today's final day, can still displace Italians Demetrio Sposato and Gabriele Centrone who currently hold the lead.

The Italians have already packed a punch the past year, racking up gold medals in the U17 fleet at both the 420 European and 420 Junior European Championships, and have every capacity to make it a hat trick.

420 U17 - Results after 10 Races
1. Demetrio SPOSATO/Gabriele CENTRONE (ITA 56563) - 36 pts
2. Pol MARSANS/Alex MARSANS (ESP 55846) - 42 pts
3. Martín WIZNER/Pedro AMENEIRO (ESP 55163) - 43 pts
4. Tommaso CILLI/Bruno MANTERO (ITA 56076) - 43 pts
5. Florian BÜSCHER/Maximilian BÜSCHER (GER 55660) - 48 pts
6. Jack LEWIS/Charlie BACON (GBR 56091) - 55 pts
7. Tommaso SALVETTA/Giovanni SANDRINI (ITA 55951) - 59 pts
8. Ariadni-Paraskevi SPANAKI/Myrto PAPADOPOULOU (GRE 54484) - 62 pts
9. Konstantinos VARDALIS/Panagiotis Giorgos MATSADES (GRE 54264) - 87 pts
10. Carlotta SCODNIK/Camilla SCODNIK (ITA 56272) - 96 pts

Another fresh day is forecast for the final day of racing today, Wednesday 3 January, promising more action aplenty for the podium deciding two races on the waters off Fremantle.