Copa del Rey: Day 1

Bella Mente Racing and the rest of the Maxi 72 fleet took to the Bay of Palma in Mallorca, Spain today for day one of the 35th Copa del Rey MAPFRE. The team, led by owner/driver Hap Fauth, took second and first place finishes in the two races of the day and currently holds the class lead, one point ahead of George Sakellaris’ Proteus.

Adrian Stead

We had two well executed starts and some solid and accurate driving upwind got us around the top in second place for both races. We worked hard downwind in a 12 to 14 knot southeasterly and were able to jump ahead of Caol Ila R in race two, taking the lead to the finish.

This four-boat fleet is tough and our competitors have been working hard to make their boats faster, but it was a good first day from the team.

Terry Hutchinson

A solid start to the event for Bella Mente. It is nip-and-tuck racing and what we are seeing is four very even boats. Two races down and nine to go, so pacing ourselves for the marathon is paramount for success later in the week.

Mike Sanderson

Copa del Rey is always a big regatta as it is really the “show and tell” for the Maxi 72 Class and how the boats are shaping up for the Maxi World Championships in September. Everyone has done a lot of work over the last few days, and I am sure all the teams were as equally excited as we were about getting out today on the course to see how we stacked up.

Today onboard Bella Mente, we had a couple of very solid starts and were “in the hunt” all day. It was great to get back into racing these amazing boats, as it’s been a month since the North American Championships wrapped up in Newport. We ended the day leading overall, just one point ahead of Proteus.

Our big conclusion for the day though is that the rule is working well. We have four Maxi 72s here in Palma rating within one point on IRC and they truly go the same speed. Because of that there are going to be some amazing battles on the racecourse, which will make for a very exciting week of racing.

The team will continue racing through Saturday, August 6. Tune in for more nightly reports featuring Hap Fauth and the team.

Day One Photo Gallery:

Click here for the event’s most recent press release 

Nightly race reports will be posted to the Bella Mente Racing website

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Race Results
Event Photos