September 2022 News
STANDOUT PERFORMACE REWARDS DIEGO NEGRI/SERGIO LAMBERTENGHI (ITA) WITH 2022 STAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WIN
A solid third place in the final race from Italy’s Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi was more than enough to reward them with gold at the 2022 Star Worlds.
For Negri, winning the 100th Anniversary Championship marks a successful defense of his 2021 Worlds title, while Lambertenghi debuts his hands on the trophy. A return to light shifty conditions for the final day was the perfect conclusion for Negri/Lambertenghi.
“It was really a tough Championship,” said Negri, “and today, these tricky conditions for the last race. It was not easy, waking up at 0600 to be ready for the regatta. I knew that in these conditions we are the best in the world,” continued Negri on this morning’s race expectation.
ERIC DOYLE/PAYSON INFELISE SEIZE RACE 5 WIN AT 100TH ANNIVERSARY STAR WORLDS
Patience aplenty has been the pattern at the 100th Anniversary Star Worlds, as every day has featured postponements, general recalls and unpredictable conditions. Friday’s race 5 was no different, with a postponement and general recall, followed by a black flag start to put the eighty-four boat fleet in restrained mode for the start of the 10.3 nm race.
Race 5, the penultimate battle of the 2022 Star Worlds, saw the 12 knot breeze easing and scoreboard pressure rising, as teams eyed each other at the start, hoping they had each chosen the optimum end. The left side of the course seemed clearly favoured, but the wind turned what seemed an unequivocal advantage on its head, as it shifted to the right.
BIG BREEZE SHAKES UP THE RACETRACK AT 100TH ANNIVERSARY STAR WORLDS
Strong winds kept the Star fleet postponed ashore, before easing enough to get race 4 underway at 1509 hours in 18 knots with some gusts up to 25 knots.
Hiking hard and sailing fast gave Luke Lawrence/Andrew Macrae (USA) race glory, with Paul Cayard (USA)/Frithjof Kleen (GER) coming in behind and third to Eric Doyle/Payson Infelise (USA). A 4th place was enough to maintain the overall lead for Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA).
DIEGO NEGRI / SERGIO LAMBERTENGHI (ITA) RETAIN POLE POSITION AT 100TH ANNIVERSARY STAR WORLDS
Wednesday day dawned sunny and breezy at the 100th Anniversary Star Worlds, in a perfect change of fortunes after Tuesday’s fog, rain and lack of wind forced racing to be cancelled.
Italy’s Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi retain pole position after a solid 5th place score, whilst the race win to George Szabo/Guy Avellon (USA) rockets them eight places up the leader board to 7th overall in the eighty-four boat fleet.
Watched by a flotilla of spectator boats, the racetrack served up classic Star Class conditions, with a 12-knot offshore breeze and chop greeting teams as they took on the 2.2nm windward leg on the first of 5 laps of the 10.8nm windward/leeward upwind finish course format. After two general recalls, not the best of starts for the five teams who struggled with the shifts off the start to earn a BFD penalty.
JØRGEN SCHÖNHERR / MARKUS KOY MAKE NO MISTAKES TO WIN RACE 2 AT THE STAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
An impressive run of form gave the race 2 win to Jørgen Schönherr (DEN) and Markus Koy (GER) who controlled the fleet from start to finish and end the day in 4th overall.
Headlining the leader board though are Italy’s Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi, who now count two second places, to lead over Paul Cayard (USA)/Frithjof Kleen (GER), with Croatia’s Tonci Stipanovic/Tudor Bilic in third.
A postponed start, followed by a general recall saw racing get underway at 1409 hours. The 6-knot breeze remained steady with a short chop, significant current, super close racing and some supreme performances throughout the 8 nm race. A frustrating day though for the five teams who gave themselves a points mountain to climb after adding a UFD penalty to their scorecards.
DICE ROLL CONDITIONS ON RACE DAY 1 AT 100TH ANNIVERSARY STAR CLASS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2022 Star Class World Championship presented by Bacardi was officially declared open by Tom Londrigan, International Star Class President, on the morning of Sunday, September 11 accompanied by a parade of nations and gun salute at Eastern Yacht Club.
The opening day was plagued by a light and shifty breeze, with a major left shift forcing the race committee to postpone the start and reset the course, with the second attempt abandoned. At 1530 hours, race 1 got underway with a 2.2 mile upwind leg, featuring breeze of around 4 knots and big shifts. The leading pack read the course well, but it was a dice roll for many of the 84 teams in the fleet with the changing pressure, dropping to 2 knots and up to 6 knots at times, with a strong current proving tricky.