[Source: 52 Super Series] May 23rd to May 27th 2012 will mark the dates when the newly established 52 Super Series will ‘sail off’ during the Trofeo Conde de Godo, in Barcelona.

The 52 Super Series is an event series of “52”­-boats, recently established by sailing enthusiasts and businessmen Doug DeVos, Niklas Zennström and Alberto Roemmers, racing at high profile and prestigious sailing regattas in cooperation with yacht clubs and local event organizers.

After the discontinuation of the MedCup in 2011, the top 52 teams, namely Quantum Racing (USA), Rán (SWE), Audi Azzurra Sailing Team (ITA), Gladiator (ENG) and Audi Sailing Team powered by ALL4ONE (GER/FRA) identified a new battlefield where they are going to fight for glory. A new ownership structure has been established where the teams in the 52 Super Series have an equivalent stake and their interests are equally taken into consideration when making strategic decisions.

“The 52 Super Series will be the world’s top mono-­hull in­‐shore fleet race competition at the highest technological and design level. The 52 Super Series will gather the world’s most talented sailors, and will separate those who compete from those who perform” – says Niklas Zennström, Owner and Skipper of Rán.

“Concentrate instead of exaggerate”. The intention of the 52 Super Series is not to create an artificial environment but rather focus on the genuine and natural setup of the high profile yacht clubs -­ full of tradition, full of history and flair – the essence of sailing.

Guillermo Parada, Skipper Audi Azzurra Sailing Team, is very enthusiastic about the newly established series: “I
am hugely excited about this new approach of focussing and concentrating on what sailing is all about”. He further adds: “Being the pinnacle of mono­‐hull in­‐shore fleet racing, the 52 Super Series adds high value to the profile, positioning and attractiveness of the events and regattas it is cooperating with. A real win­‐win situation-”

Alberto Roemmers, owner of AUDI Azzurra, is one of the three initial stakeholders of the 52 Super Series. Photo copyright Jesús Renedo / AUDI Azzurra

The 52 Super Series Calendar 2012 comprises the following regattas:

Trofeo Conde de Godo, Barcelona, May 23 – 27
Sardinia Cup, Porto Cervo, June 11 – 17
Royal Cup, Palma, July 10 – 14
Copa del Rey, Palma, July 16 – 21
Valencia Cup, Valencia, September 16 – 23

As the 52 Super Series is trying to achieve a healthy mixture between already established and new regattas, the trained eye will easily notice that the Royal Cup and the Valencia Cup have not been found on the map of sailing in previous years. The 52 Super Series envisions instituting these regattas as an integral part of the international sailing calendar.

In order to align the objectives with the positioning, in 2013, the 52 Series will also take place ‘outside’ Europe.

Ed Reynolds, CEO of Quantum Racing says: “We are thrilled about the new concept and approach. We consider
2012 as a transition year in which we try to attract more teams who didn’t compete during the past years.” When being asked about the future development of the series, Ed mentions: “The stakeholders driving the 52 Super Series are very successful businessmen who know exactly what they want and are very realistic about the development potential the 52 Super Series has. From 2013, we would like to grow the 52 Super Series globally with regattas in America as well as the Middle East and potentially Asia in 2014. But we will do this in an economically viable and consolidated manner.”

JACARANDA Marketing with offices in Valencia, Spain and Munich, Germany have been appointed as the main partner to manage and implement the 52 Super Series. “We are very pleased that we have been given the opportunity to assist with the development and implementation of the 52 Super Series,” says Lars Böcking, Managing Director. JACARANDA Marketing has been involved in the marketing and management of professional sailing for many years.

[Source: Mapfre PalmaVela] After yesterday’s rough conditions and lumpy seas in the bay of Palma, organizers and sailors of the Mapfre PalmaVela regatta were delighted to see sunny skies and lighter winds today. In around 15 knots of Southwesterly breeze the second day of races saw a full slate of races, including three for the Soto 40′s, three for the TP 52′s, two for the maxis, and a coastal race for the Vintage and Classic class.

Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou and Sir Linday Owen-Jones Magic Carpet 2 kept challenging each other today in the Delta area race where the Maxi contests are being held. Brad Butterworth’s good tactics onboard Jethou resulted in a win for the British Maxi which takes the lead in spite of her finishing fifth in race three of the competition. Jochen Schumann skippered Magic Carpet 2 was second and fourth, and keeps tied in points with Jethou, but the latter is first for she has more wins -1,2,1,5-. Three points behind is German Emma of Dr. Johan Killinger, and Brian Benjamin’s Aegir was forced to abandon after breaking the boom.

A very tightly packed TP52 fleet saw Ed Baird skippered Quantum Racing perform with her customary consistency, taking three second place finishes which places her first after five races. Second is Niklas Zennström’s RÁN, with a fourth, a first and a third place and eleven points, same scoring as Italo-Argentinean Audi Azzurra of Alberto Roemmers. The brand new Botin & Partners designed TP52 skippered by Argentinean Guillermo Parada got in the mood today with a first, a third and a first places.

The Soto 40 class had its stage debut today in the Mapfre PalmaVela. The series favourite Iberdrola, with Pichu Torcida at the helm, showed they are in form and finished the day in the first position after the three races held today for the Argentinean One Design class. The green 40 footer owned by Agustín Zulueta won the two last races, but lost the first one to Andrés Soriano’s Alegre, which managed two third positions in the remaining two races. The Virgin Islands flagged Soto 40 is now second three points behind. Tony Buckingham’s Ngoni was third after a fourth and two second places.

The Vintage and Classic division had its 14,3 mile long coastal race today, which saw Albert Kusak’s Enterprise beat Moonbeam IV of Mikaël Creach after they were challenging each other throughout the whole race.

All the 15 divisions of the Mapfre PalmaVela fleet will be on the water tomorrow Saturday, when races are scheduled to start again at 12:00 hours.

The latest TP52 yacht of the Argentinean-Italian team hit the water on Wednesday in Valencia. Stay tuned for more information throughout the day.

Brand new Azzurra TP52 takes maiden sail. Valencia, 14 March 2012. Photo copyright Primi Murgui

[Source: TP52 Class] Following a series of meetings held during Quantum Key West Race Week, members of the TP52 class are pleased to announce its plans for grand prix racing in 2012 and beyond.

Rob Weiland, TP52 Class Manager, says the class is forming a management group owned and controlled by members that will be responsible for event management, event marketing, sponsor and media coordination as well as recruiting new teams to join 52 racing.

“There is strong support and enthusiasm for this structure, not only among owners, but also potential sponsors who have been part of the discussions. TP52 racing will continue in 2012 and beyond at the same high-caliber level as in previous years,” says Weiland. “With class ownership and control, we expect to establish a strong, stable racing program that will continue to expand and excel.”

This year, the class will be racing in a circuit with consistent race management including on-the-water umpiring. The circuit winner will be the best-performing boat in five qualifying events. The regatta schedule will include:

- Palma Vela, Palma, April 18 – 22 (tune up event)
- Trofeo Conde de Godo, Barcelona, May 23 – 27
- Sardinia Cup, Porto Cervo, June 11 – 17
- Royal Cup, Palma, July 10 – 14
- Copa del Rey, Palma, July 16-21 (does not count toward trophy)
- France Cup or One Ton Cup, TBD in France, September 18 – 22
- Valencia Cup, Valencia, October 9-13

Weiland says IRC 52 and Soto 40 teams are invited to join in the racing. “We’d like to increase the participation, which not only makes for more exciting competition, but will also provide a chance to race for the Sardinia Cup, a team event with two-boat teams consisting of a 52 and a Soto 40.”

For all events except the Copa del Rey, the 52s—whether a TP52 or IRC52—will race boat-for-boat. “The IRC52s will have to be within a TCC limit for this,” says Weiland. “That limit is set slightly above the TCC that a TP52 has in order to accommodate features such as carbon rigging, which under IRC carry a rating ‘penalty’.

“Just as we are experiencing at Quantum Key West Race Week, this will provide close and exciting racing,” adds Weiland. “Level rating, as such, is not a novelty, but the mix of level raters and box rule 52s is unique. For sure there is a lot to learn; we will start with an open mind and very few limits.”

At Copa del Rey, Weiland says the 52s will race under IRC. “That suits the event organization better and maximizes the number of boats on the start line. We hope to see well over ten teams competing in Palma.”

Weiland says the class will begin working with the clubs involved in the 2012 program immediately, while the organizational details are finalized for the management group. The 2013 calendar will be announced no later than August 2012. Plans for next year tentatively call for a return to the Americas early in the season.

[Source: AUDI Media Services] AUDI AG is restructuring its commitment in international sailing. Effective immediately, Audi is placing the main focus on supporting national activities and large-scale sailing events, while giving up the role of name-giver and sponsor of the MedCup regatta series.

Audi had been the title sponsor of the MedCup since the beginning of the 2008 season. Most recently, two boats sporting the colors of the carmaker based in Ingolstadt – Audi Sailing Team powered by ALL4ONE and Audi Azzurra Sailing Team – competed in the event as well.

“Wherever Audi is engaged in international sailing our brand stands for sporting competitions at the highest level,” stresses Lothar Korn, Head of Marketing Communications of AUDI AG. Sailing, he says, is one of the core sports of Audi’s sponsoring commitments. “However, in the future we want to put a stronger focus on sailing events in individual countries – be it through the continuation of boat partnerships, commitments at tradition-steeped regatta weeks or at national regatta series,” Korn adds as he explains the decision.

The regattas supported by Audi include the “Copa del Rey” off the coast of Majorca, for instance, the national Audi Sailing Series in Italy or the Kieler Woche, which is the world’s biggest sailing festival, attracting three million visitors every year.

Audi is paying special attention to the future of German competition sailing. Since 2010 the company has been supporting Sailing Team Germany, the German national sailing team, providing cars to the top sailors and pool vehicles for traveling to and from the regattas and practice sessions. The commitment is aimed at accompanying the talents on their way toward the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the best possible manner.

[Source: World Sailing Management] World Sailing Management (WSM), organizers of the MedCup sailing circuit, the official international competition of the TP52 and Soto 40 classes, regrets to announce to all those involved and interested in this prestigious circuit, that it has decided to suspend the 2012 season.

This difficult business decision was taken for the following reasons, all of them related to the economic and financial crisis affecting the whole world and Europe in particular:

1. Serious uncertainty regarding the number of boats, mainly in the 52 Series (TP 52 class), willing to commit to compete in all of the events comprising the circuit with the risk of an insufficient number of competitors to ensure the competitive level reached by the circuit in previous seasons.
2. The lack of financial resources available to local authorities in their bid to become potential venues for the events of the circuit, which limited the ability to address their usual obligations and maintain the circuit’s level of quality.
3. Together with the abovementioned factors, a decrease in the support needed from AUDI AG, which has been the circuit’s title sponsor, has led WSM to terminate, early and peacefully, the sponsorship deal linking both companies.

In brief, WSM believes that it is more rational to suspend the Circuit than let it continue with falling standards.

Nevertheless, WSM will continue to work during 2012 in order to overcome these difficulties, confident that it will be able once again to provide the sailing world with the spectacle that the MedCup Circuit has always been.

[Source: AUDI Azzurra] Audi Azzurra Sailing Team has begun construction of a new TP52 Class yacht at the King Marine shipyard in Valencia, Spain under the supervision of engineer Pablo Santarsiero.

The yacht is designed by Marcelo Botin with his partner Adolfo Carrau plus additional input from Paolo Periotto. In charge of the structure engineering is Giovanni Belgrano’s Pure Engineering of New Zealand while the CFD studies were carried out by Italo-Argentinean Alberto Porto.

Juan Garay of North Sails will design the sails while the deck layout has been designed by the entire crew together with Botin. Miguel Costa is Project Manager for the new Azzurra.

Like her predecessor, this new boat will be owned by Alberto Roemmers, a member of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, and confirms Azzurra’s commitment to the TP52 Class, the most professional and technological one-design.

[Source: TP52 Class] The concept is to race boat for boat on basis of a maximum IRC TCC and a very simple box that basically only restricts LOA, Beam, DSPL and Draft.

The AUDI MedCup and the TP52 Class invite IRC52 owners and teams to participate at the 2012 AUDI MedCup event(s) of their choice. Per event a number of 3 invitations will be made for sure, first come first served.

This may be extended on basis of acceptance by our partners, the AUDI MedCup organizors. Similarly Wild Card Invitations are in principal limited to a maximum of 2 events per IRC52 team. Again, we may extend on this.

This will give owners of IRC52’s and their teams the opportunity to race in the most exciting monohull fleet of this moment and enjoy the high level of facilities and organization that the AUDI MedCup is known for. In exactly the same way as the TP52 teams that race the full 2012 event.

Download the IRC52 Concept here or read it in the embedded PDF file here below (it works like any ordinary PDF file, you can zoom in, zoom out and cut/paste any part of the text):