Opening day of racing at Loro Piana Giraglia, the third event of the International Maxi Association’s 2026 Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge.
Despite the light forecast, the sea breeze filled in on the Baie de Pampelonne and soon after midday the maxi classes were able to set off on the first of two windward-leeward races in a 7-8 knot southeasterly.
In the first race for the faster yachts in Group A, the Lizz Flowers-steered 100ft Galateia made the best of the start and first beat to lead around the top mark.
After two laps she finished first on the water ahead of Karel Komárek’s V and was far enough ahead to beat Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s 80ft My Song by 39 seconds to the IRC corrected time win.
The second race got underway after 14:00 on a longer course with the wind slightly stronger.
In this Joost Schuijff’s Leopard 3, despite being the lowest-rated of the 100 footers, managed to sneak in ahead of Galateia and V at the top and from there defended well to finish 21 seconds ahead of V and 49 seconds ahead of Galateia on the water.
However it was Alessandro Del Bono’s JV80 Capricorno, that won the race overall, bumping Leopard 3 into second on corrected time.
Despite not winning a race, a 2-3 for Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s My Song has put her into the lead of Group A after day one, but by just one point from Leopard 3 and a further two ahead of Capricorno. This is the best start the event sponsor has made in a regatta to date in his 80ft canting keeler.
In contrast, the smaller maxi class has seen the form quickly establish itself with Carlo Puri Negri’s Farr/Felci-designed 70ft Atalanta II winning both today’s races and Guido Paolo Gamucci’s IMA Maxi 3 European Champion Cippa Lippa X coming second in both.
This left former IMA President Benoît de Froidmont’s newly relaunched Wally 60 Wallyño to claim the final spot on the podium in the first race and Philip Rann’s 82ft Aegir to do so in the second.
Two windward-leewards are again scheduled for the maxi classes tomorrow with a first warning scheduled for 1000 but with more light winds/sea breeze forecast.
