Qualifying Series Round 2, day 1: Slovenia in the lead

Winner of both races on Day 2 of SSL Gold Cup 2022 Qualifying Series Round 2, SSL Team Slovenia have taken a commanding position at the top of Group 3. SSL Team Lithuania remain in 2nd place after finishing runner up in both of today's races. It was a day to forget for "La Tri" from Ecuador who, after a disappointing last place in the first race, started swiftly to take the lead in Race 2 until a mistake at Mark 3 cost them and ensured they once again finished in last place.

With only the first two teams in the group qualifying for the Final Series, SSL Team Ecuador knew they had to give it their all in Race 2. After a good start, Julio Velez's team seemed in control until the Mark 3. They gybed under the pressure of Lithuania and Slovenia and their kite finished in the water, costing them not only the lead but also crucial points in the overall standings.

The Slovenian "Krpani1860" had the opposite experience as they recovered from a really bad start in Race 2 to finish first, overtaking both the unlucky Ecuadorians and Lithuania after Mark 3. In unpredictable conditions, it was all down to light wind strategy in the last two legs and Slovenia showed all their skills to cross the line 1st again.
The ultimate standings of Group 3 will be decided on Friday, when it is Golden Day and points will count for double. As such, the contest is still very much open for either "La Tri" or the Lithuanian "Ambers" to grab the final qualifying slot for Bahrain.

Quotes of the day

KRISTOFORAS AKROMAS, SSL TEAM LITHUANIA PIT

«We played well but at the end of the day, we did not get the result we wanted by finishing two time second. People say: "There is a winner and a loser" so today, we lost two races! Frankly, we are really happy with the results. We have been practicing in light winds a lot and at the end of the day, we couldn't do much more. We realized we took several poor strategic decisions that led to this result. There are things we need to improve after we will analyze the video. Several maneuvers were not as smooth as we expected but we can't say they had consequences on our final results».

IRENE SUAREZ, SSL TEAM ECUADOR FLOATER

«In Race 2, the tack that hold the spinnaker came undone so we had to figure out fast so we could hoist the spinnaker up again. That took a little bit of time. We were first and then we got 3rd... When we were first, it looked like we had the race in our hands. We felt great, in controlled and secured about ourselves. So tomorrow, because races will count for double, our plan is to be at the top of our game, ahead of the fleet. If we are first, we will try to control the fleet, we are second, we will stand on our position and try not to drop 3rd in order to qualify to the Final Series».

TINA MRAK, SSL TEAM SLOVENIA MID-BOW

«Today was another challenging day with lights winds. We were focused on our boat handling and the Starts, which were not that good yesterday. We were very focused to build a good speed. The three laps races were very challenging with a lot of maneuvers, hoisting and droppings. They all came really good for us. We were really happy with our sailing and we are looking forward for tomorrow».