After two great races yesterday in medium winds, this Sunday the competitors in the 40' Malouine LAMOTTE sailed two 13- and 10-mile coastal races in around twenty knots of wind and sunshine. The conditions were ideal for a match-racing battle. As proof of this, the two frontrunners, Ian Lipinski's Crédit Mutuel and Ambrogio Beccaria's Alla Grande - Pirelli finished level on points, but it was the Franco-Italian crew who won the LODIGROUP Trophy, completing a clean sweep after their victory in the main race.
"We really had a blast today! It's been an incredible day. The conditions were perfect, just the way we like them," summed up Ambrogio Beccaria on his return from sea on Sunday, after a very fine mano a mano with Ian Lipinski and his men. "Like yesterday, we won the first race of the day by a wide margin. The second race, on the other hand, was much more competitive. We knew that first place in the general ranking was going to come down to us and Crédit Mutuel. Whoever finished ahead of the other would win. He came after us, playing the marking game, but he came off badly. Downwind, on flat seas, we made the difference. It ended up being a real match race. We didn't give up and we crossed the line half a length ahead. A tiny lead, but enough to take first place", commented the Italian sailor and his sidekick Nicolas Andrieu, supported by Quentin Ponroy, Bastien Oger and Malo Bessec during this LODIGROUP Trophy. "We sailed really well and we're pleased because it wasn't easy, with some very short tacks," added Ambrogio, who scored a fine double in this fourth edition of the event after winning the 40' Malouine LAMOTTE double-handed race on Thursday and Friday.
All that is taken will be taken no more
"Clearly, that was the objective. We made some great trajectories and confirmed our ease of speed, particularly downwind, which bodes well for the transatlantic race," explained the skipper of Alla Grande - Pirelli, who has already won the CIC Normandy Channel Race this season after two second places in the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe 2022 and the Défi Atlantique 2023. "We came here to perform. The contract has been fulfilled," added the sailor, who confirms that he will undoubtedly be one of the big favourites in the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie - Le Havre, along with a number of other sailors, starting with Matthieu Perraut and Kévin Bloch (Inter Invest), whose Max 40 was making her return to racing for the first time since the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe. "We came here with no pressure, just to enjoy ourselves, and we really enjoyed ourselves. Yesterday and today, we sailed some very complete courses. We sailed around the rocks really well. We worked hard and made some great options. It was important for us to be in the game after a year without racing aboard the boat and we couldn't have hoped for a more comprehensive test against the competition", emphasised the former Ministe, who also showed great consistency by finishing 3rd in the main race and 3rd in the LODIGROUP Trophy. "We were very consistent. We made some good options and sailed well around the rocks. We didn't make any big mistakes and we're happy about that. It clearly gives us confidence for the rest of the race", concludes Matthieu, who, like most of the others, will be lining up at the start of the Route du Café on 29th October.
Source : SNBSM
Results : Voile habitable / Régates / 40 Malouine LAMOTTE 2021 (snbsm.com)
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