Copa del Rey Mapfre: Rombelli Keeps the Melges 40 Lead Going into Final Day

Palma de Mallorca, Spain - The third day of racing for the Melges 40 fleet at Copa del Rey Mapfre 2018 may have been a decisive one, mainly in favor of overnight leader Alessandro Rombelli's STIG (Francesco Bruni, tactician).

Today demonstrated perfectly that the competitive aspects of the Melges 40 fleet is equally distributed, making it almost impossible for any team to effectively defend what is considered by many a comfortable lead against their opponents.

That said, Rombelli was perceived as the prey, with Yukihiro Ishida's SIKON (Manu Weiller, tactician) clearly back in the hunt after collecting two out of three bullets available today, successfully moving him up the charts and into second place overall.

Rombelli is a true champion and showing great strength and pride, he raised his hat to win the final race of the day (Race Nine).

"Our opponents were really out to make our lives very complicated today," said a smiling Rombelli. "Initially we were aggressive and at first, only partially defended ourselves. But, we managed to find the confidence and lucidity required to maintain a nice lead. Tomorrow, for the final day we will start again and will just try to sail our very best."

Alberto Bolzan, tactician aboard VITAMINA-CETILAR commented on how his team, although seated third, is tied in points with Ishida yet anticipate an intense final day of competition in Palma. "Our team only recently entered the Melges 40 Class, so we continue to grow and improve, but it is not easy. We are working very hard to remain on the podium, and if things go our way it could be our best performance yet. The Melges 40 is a beautiful 'race car' that is unique. It's performance is incredible and there is still so much to discover."

The final day of racing for the third event of the 2018 Melges 40 Grand Prix circuit held in conjunction with Copa del Rey Mapfre hosted by Real Club Nautico de Palma takes place on Saturday, August 4.

The Melges 40 Grand Prix circuit counts on the support of Helly Hansen, Garmin Marine, and Melges Europe.

Melges 40 Grand Prix has signed and adopts the code of ethics of the Charta Smeralda strongly promoting the values of One Ocean Foundation.

FULL RESULTS (PRELIMINARY - After Nine Races)
1.) (ITA) Alessandro Rombelli/Francesco Bruni, STIG; 1-4-2-2-1-1-5-4-1 = 16
2.) (JPN) Yukihiro Ishida/Manu Weiller, SIKON; 5-1-1-5-6/DNF-3-1-1-4 = 21
3.) (ITA) Andrea Lacorte/Alberto Bolzan, VITAMINA-CETILAR; 2-2-4-1-3-5-4-3-2 = 21
4.) (RUS) Valentin Zavadnikov/Kelvin Harrap, DYNAMIQ-SYNERGY SAILING TEAM; 3-3-5-3-2-4-3-2-5 = 25
5.) (SWE) Richard Goransson/Cameron Appleton, INGA; 4-5-3-4-4-2-2-5-3 = 27