Alinghi third in Versoix

26 May, 2015

This past weekend saw the second event in the 2015 D35 Championship – the prestigious Open de Versoix.

Having suffered from a relative lack of wind earlier in the season, conditions couldn’t have been any different on the first day of racing in Versoix. Or, rather, what was supposed to be the first day of racing. Huge winds of 30 knots left the Race Committee with little option but to call off Saturday’s competition, meaning it would all come down to how the teams were able to perform on Sunday. 

Happily, conditions on day two were perfect, with winds ranging from 12-20 knots. Alinghi got off to a reasonable start, finishing third in Race 1. The team had, however, been out in front before a penalty turn caused them to drop behind Ladycat and Team Tilt.

Alinghi’s luck improved in Race 2, which the team won having led from the top turn. Behind them were Team Tilt, who would be a regular competitor over the rest of the day. Indeed, it was Tilt that would take the Open de Versoix after winning races 3, 5 and 6. Alinghi had to beat Realstone in the last race in order to secure second place behind Tilt overall. Unfortunately, a further penalty meant that the team couldn’t do it and had to settle for third.
Still, it was a fantastic day of truly competitive racing – the sort that the class and the Series were designed for. Congratulations to Team Tilt – and we’ll see them at the start line next time.

Complete results and rankings of the weekend:
http://d35trophy.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Classement-CNV-2015.pdf