Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2026: Mistral adds spice to the World Championship race

Mistral stirs things up at the Maxi Yacht Cup

Following the rest day, the waters off Porto Cervo showed their competitive side on Thursday. Wind speeds of 16 knots were initially recorded at the start, later increasing to 22 knots. In some sections of the courses, the Mistral even produced gusts of up to 25 knots. The race committee therefore split the fleet into different courses, tailored to the respective classes.

In Maxi 1, the programme featured two windward-leeward races. The other classes sailed coastal courses around the islands of Caprera, La Maddalena and Spargi. The common reference point was a windward mark situated around three nautical miles from the starting line.

‘V’ remains in the lead, ‘Leopard 3’ moves up

In the first race, “V” came out on top. The team led by Czech owner Karel Komárek found the better wind and held on to the lead right to the finish. The Wallycento sister yacht “Galateia” followed in third place. ​“Magic Carpet e” Surprisingly, it played to its strengths in strong winds and secured second place. The Verdier design was originally optimised for light-wind Mediterranean conditions.

In the second race, “Leopard 3” coped best with the freshening conditions. The 100-footer, with a rich history of offshore racing, won ahead of “Galateia” and Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s “My Song”. After competing in the Loro Piana Giraglia Paul Cayard is back on board as tactician.

“V” finished in fourth place, thereby retaining the overall lead. After four races, “V” leads the Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Championship with nine points. “Leopard 3” is just one point behind, with “Galateia” following on twelve points. The provisional ORC overall standings thus confirm a close battle at the top.

‘Northstar III’ continues its march

In the Maxi Grand Prix, the World Championship has so far been a much more one-sided affair. ‘Northstar III’ also won the fourth race and thus remains undefeated. Peter Dubens’ new 76-footer prevailed over “Django 7X” by a margin of 51 seconds after the corrected time was calculated. “Balthasar” came third. “Northstar III” now has four points. Behind it, “Balthasar”, “Bella Mente” and “Proteus” are all level on 17 points each. The leader’s advantage is therefore comfortable, even though the Mistral conditions pushed some boats to their limits.

For “Jolt”, the day came to a premature end following damage to the connection between the two rudder blades. On “Bella Mente”, the attachment at the top of the jib top also failed. The team then had to carefully guide the yacht to the finish line. The Wallyrocket 71 ‘Django 7X’, by contrast, once again demonstrated impressive speed and, according to the team, achieved a boat speed of 24 to 25 knots in winds of around 22 knots. Tactician Vasco Vascotto said: “Giovanni Lombardi has done a fantastic job – I think he was the only owner who helmed the boat himself throughout the entire race. The boat performs well in almost all conditions, and we can hold our own against all our competitors.”

New leaders in Maxi 3 and Maxi 4

In Maxi 3, ‘Artemis Bleu’ won the coastal race, finishing seven minutes ahead of ‘Manticore’. The 2013 Botin 65 (formerly‘Caro’, built by Knierim) has recently undergone significant optimisation. The modifications included changes to the rudder and keel, weight reduction and 1.5 tonnes of water ballast. According to the team, “Artemis Bleu” reached speeds of up to 24 knots in a mistral.

The victory also propelled “Artemis Bleu” to the top of the overall standings. The boat now leads by seven points ahead of “Manticore” and “Astra I”, who both have nine points. For “Twin Soul B”, the previous leaders, the day came to a premature end following damage to the rudder.

There has also been a change at the top of the Maxi 4 class. “Yoru” won ahead of “Why Not” and “@Robas” and now leads the class by five points. “Fra Diavolo”, winner of the first two races, is just one point behind. The outcome therefore remains to be seen.

‘H2O’ and ‘Highland Fling XVIII’ dominate

In the Maxi 5 class, ‘H2O’ continues its winning streak. The Vallicelli 78 has won its third race in a row and leads the overall standings by three points. The two Swans, “Lunz am Meer” (651) and “Shirlaf” (65), are separated by just 0.2 points.

In the multihull class, “Highland Fling XVIII” was once again the boat to beat. The 80-foot catamaran finished ahead of “Allegra” and “Sophia”, extending its lead to five points. Its speed on the downwind leg was particularly impressive. According to the team, speeds of up to 34 knots were recorded at times, and at the finish line they were over 30 knots.

Friday will decide the Maxi Yacht Cup

On Friday, the Maxi 1 and Maxi Grand Prix classes are each set to sail two more windward-leeward races. The mistral is expected to pick up further as the afternoon progresses. This is likely to make the battle between ‘V’ and ‘Leopard 3’ even more intense.

The current results are provisional and were last updated in the ORC database on 10 September 2026. The full interim results can be found in the official ORC results summary.