Italy takes it all again: Maidollis and Taki 4 are the new Melges 24 World Champions

The history of the Melges 24 Class repeats itself: after the successful World Championship of Helsinki in 2017, the Italian crews onboard Maidollis and Taki 4 (Corinthian) are again the Melges 24 World Champions.

The fight for both the overall and the Corinthian podium was open until the very leg of the eleven races completed in Villasimius, amazing hosing location to the 22nd edition of the Melges 24 World Championship.

With a tight competition between Gianluca Perego’s Maidollis ITA854, Bruce Ayres’ Monsoon USA851 and Andrea Pozzi’s Bombarda ITA860, that brought continuous changes all through the last day of racing, the Italians aboard Maidollis gained the victory only in the very last race of the series, where they managed to overcome Monsoon, leader of the ranking until that moment, putting the seal on the World title with a net total of 45 points. Monsoon closed in second (49 pt.), followed by an excellent and extremely consistent Bombarda (57 pt.).

“We are extremely proud of having put the seal once again on this prestigious title, in a fleet that this year, more than ever, was competitive and extremely packed. Congrats to our opponents, and to Monsoon and Bombarda in first place, who duelled with us until the last jibe,” commented the owner of Maidollis, Gian Luca Perego.

The story was much similar also in the Corinthian division, where the Marco Zammarchi’s Taki 4 ITA778, already World Champion in Miami and Helsinki, surpassed Storm Capital Sail Racing NOR751 with Peder Jahre in helm only in the last race. The crew that had led the ranking until the very last day, the Lenny EST790 of Tõnu Tõniste, today had to give up ad leave room to the inexorable rhythm of Storm Capital Sail Racing and Taki 4, concluding the event in third place.

The curtains close in a great way on the 2019 Melges 24 season, that will resume in 2020. For next year, the World Championship 2020 is scheduled for May 1-9 in the USA, Charleston, while the European Championship 2020 will take place on September 5-12 in Portoroz, Slovenia.

The results of Top 10:

Maidollis, ITA854, Carlo Fracassoli – 1 -17 -1 -2 -2 -6 -13 -[29] -1 -2 ; 45
Monsoon, USA851, Bruce Ayres – 10 -5 -4 -6 -1 -9 -3 -[38] -3 -8 ; 49
Bombarda, ITA860, Andrea Pozzi – 5 -6 -14 -1 -3 -1 -10 -3 -14 -[30] ; 57
Warcanoe, USA841, Michael Goldfarb – 2 -1 -2 -16 -17 -21 -[62] -6 -8 -7 ; 80
Taki 4, ITA778, Niccolo Bertola (COR) – 16 – 4 -5 -17 -8 -[44] -31 -2 -11 -4 ; 98
Storm Capital Sail Racing, NOR751, Peder Jahre (COR) – 4 -24 -12 -9 -9 -26 -[27] -1 -4 -18 ; 107
Melgina, ITA693, Paolo Brescia – 23 -11 -[29] -12 -6 -11 -8 -12 -2 -22 ; 107
Lenny, EST790, Tõnu Tõniste (COR) – 6 -2 -24 -4 -15 -8 -24 -13 -[26] -12 ; 108
Altea, ITA722, Andrea Racchelli – [62] -18 -3 -19 -10 -17 -9 -11 -12 -15 ; 114
Mikey, USA835, Kevin Welch – [62] -33 -15 -3 -5 -29 -5 -23 -6 -1 ; 120