Mateusz Kusznierewicz/Bruno Prada’s Instinct Is Again Pure Brilliance on Bacardi Cup Day 2
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Star Class leader board ended the same as yesterday’s opener, with defending Bacardi Cup Champions Mateusz Kusznierewicz/Bruno Prada again dominating the fifty-eight boat fleet for their second win in two races.
Race 2 of the 95th Bacardi Cup got underway on attempt number two, after a bunch of ambitious teams in the middle of the line forced the Race Committee to a general recall. A perfect day delivered as good as Star Class racing gets, with a consistent south-easterly breeze of around 12-15 knots, waves serving up full hiking upwind legs and super surfing conditions downwind for the 110 minutes, 9 nautical mile race.
Behind Kusznierewicz/Prada, it is tiebreak between Eric Doyle/Payson Infelise (USA), who won here in 2019, and brothers Peter O’Leary/Robert O’Leary (IRL) who sit on 5 points apiece, having matched each other’s scores across the two races. 2018 Bacardi Cup victors Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA) are in fourth.
The Race Track Story
Kusznierewicz/Prada know the nuances of Biscayne Bay well, opting for the left side upwind, before making a faultless tactical decision to move to the right side and find the increasing pressure for the final part of the first upwind. The leaders were chased hard by Augie Diaz/Christian Nehammer (USA), Peter O’Leary/Robert O’Leary (IRL), Eric Doyle/Payson Infelise (USA) and Jack Jennings/Pedro Trouche (USA), who had all made a break ahead of the fleet.
The teams who played the left side of the track got crushed and a significant number overstood the port tack layline, leading to a crazy and close mark rounding.
Downwind the easing breeze consolidated the fleet, picking up as teams rounded the gate to again favour the strong and experienced who flew back upwind. As before, a significant gap unfolded between the top seven boats and the rest of the fleet. Heading upwind, Kusznierewicz/Prada extended their lead, with Diaz/Nehammer, the O’Leary brothers and Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi battling (ITA) it out for second place.
On the final downwind the O’Learys made a key move, pressing Kusznierewicz/Prada every step of the way, as Peter explained, “Robert decided we would go round the other gate, at the bottom left looking down, and he was spot on. We gained a nice bit of space and were able to get close to the leader.”
Onto the final upwind, the brothers got forced a bit past the layline, giving Doyle/Infelise the advantage to move into second by a couple of meters, the Irish in third and Italians fourth.
“It was proper racing,” continued Peter. “It is as close to an Olympic standard as you are going to get. There was very little between the boats.”
Doyle/Infelise were pleased with their score, having chipped their way through the fleet to get back on form and pop the result after an uninspiring start.
“It was beautiful tough sailing, it’s a super competitive fleet,” said Infelise. “The key was to sail by yourself, get going fast, hit the shifts when you can and just keep the boat moving as quickly as you could.”
“Everywhere you look you are turning around and looking at a World Champion or a silver Star, so super competitive. I think it is the most competitive we have had in a few years here. It is really nice to have all the Europeans and everyone back here.”
Another 4th place finish from Italy’s Negri/Lambertenghi positions them 3 points behind the Americans and Irish.
“More or less the performance was even worse than yesterday,” commented Lambertenghi as we caught up with him relaxing post-race in the pool.
“We were a little bit slower I think, because it was lighter than yesterday, and we were not so brilliant as we felt yesterday. But anyway, we had a good race, a couple of mistakes on manoeuvre on my side and a couple of small mistakes on the tactics. We had fun and we had the same result as yesterday and we are quite satisfied – not 100%, but good!”
Provisional Top 10 Results – after Race 2
1. Mateusz Kusznierewicz / Bruno Prada (POL 8548) – 2 pts
2. Eric Doyle / Payson Infelise (USA 8423) – 5 pts
3. Peter O’Leary / Robert O’Leary (IRL 8465) – 5 pts
4. Diego Negri / Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA 8567) – 8 pts
5. Eivind Melleby / Joshua Revkin (NOR 8543) – 13 pts
6. Paul Cayard / Frithjof Kleen (USA 1988) – 16 pts
7. Augie Diaz / Christian Nehammer (USA 8509) – 17 pts
8. Erik Lidecis / Greg Smith (USA 8459) – 22 pts
9. Jack Jennings / Pedro Trouche (USA 8464) – 22 pts
10. Peter Vessella / Phil Trinter (USA 8573) – 26 pts
The camaraderie continued into the evening, as teams headed to Coral Reef Yacht Club for the Bacardi Happy Hour.
With four races ahead to complete the six-race series, and one discard coming into play after race 5, there is plenty of race track brilliance to come and plenty of luminaries ready to make their move to lift the hefty silver Bacardi Cup and Tito Cup trophies come Saturday, March 12.
Race 3 is scheduled to start at 1200 hours on Wednesday, March 9, and registration gets underway tomorrow for the other classes – J/70, Melges 24, Viper 640, VX One and 69F – who join the racing from March 10-12.
A special thank you to this year’s event sponsors and supporters:
Bacardi USA, EFG International, Quantum Sails, Nautical Ventures, Fever Tree, Shake a Leg Miami, Sail 22, Pro Coach Boats, HATUEY®Beer, Tuuci, Termodinamica USA, Coconut Grove Business District, Harken Derm, Team 1 Newport and Hobie.
Text Credit: Luissa Smith
Photo Credits: Martina Orsini
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Thank you as always to our host clubs, Coral Reef Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Shake a Leg Miami and the US Sailing Center, the Coconut Grove Business District and Dinner Key Marina for their support.
Notes to Editors –
About Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.: Bacardi U.S.A. Inc. is the United States import and distribution arm of family-owned Bacardi Limited, the largest privately held spirits company in the world. The company boasts a portfolio of some of the most recognized and top-selling spirits brands in the United States including BACARDÍ® rum, PATRÓN® tequila, GREY GOOSE® vodka, DEWAR’S® Blended Scotch Whisky, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin, CAZADORES® 100% blue agave tequila, MARTINI vermouth and sparkling wines, the world’s leading vermouth and the world’s favorite Italian sparkling wines, and other leading and emerging brands. Founded more than 158 years ago in Santiago de Cuba, Bacardi Limited currently employs more than 7,000, operates more than 20 production facilities in 11 countries, and sells its brands in more than 170 countries. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited. Visit www.bacardilimited.com or follow us on Twitter @BacardiLimited or Instagram @BacardiLimited1862. Enjoy Responsibly. BACARDÍ, its label, its bottle design and the Bat Device are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Bacardi & Company Limited. © 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Visit: www.bacardi.com
About EFG: EFG International is a global private banking group offering wealth management and asset management services. It operates in around 40 locations worldwide. EFG International operates in Miami through its subsidiaries EFG Capital, which provides its customers with investment and brokerage related financial services, and EFG Asset Management, which crafts financial advice for private clients seeking portfolio management and multi-family office services. Visit: www.efginternational.com
About Quantum: At Quantum, we’re connected to sailors everywhere through our love of sailing and our belief that facing every challenge head-on is infinitely rewarding. Since 1996, we have focused on providing the best-performing products in sailing. Today, we’re equally relentless about delivering a higher standard of service, customer care, education, support and mentorship. Visit: www.quantumsails.com
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About Fever-Tree: Founded in 2005, Fever-Tree is the leading premium line of carbonated mixers. It procures the world’s finest ingredients from natural sources. The Fever-Tree range is designed to complement and enhance a range of premium spirits and with its high quality and naturally sourced ingredients is the perfect accompaniment to any drinking occasion. Visit: www.fever-tree.com