52 Super Series: “Platoon Aviation” comes out on top in the clash with “Sled”

Harm Müller-Spreer and his crew on “Platoon Aviation” achieved the best result of the day on the second of the five race days at the 52 Super Series season finale in Valencia. With a race win and a fifth-place finish, the German team moved up to second place in the record fleet of 16 boats after four races. There are six races remaining until Saturday to achieve their ambitious goal for the year: Harm Müller-Spreer’s (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) second title of the season, following his victory in 2023.

52 Super Series: Clash of the champions in the final of the 15th season

After four races, the top four were separated by just two points in Valencia. The Thai yacht “Vayu”, owned by the Whitcraft family, led the standings with 17 points, ahead of “Platoon Aviation” (18), the Italian “Alkedo Cetilar” and Takashi Okura’s “Sled” (both on 19 points). This meant that, for the time being, the German TP still held the advantage in the championship battle between “Platoon Aviation” and “Sled”.

Things hadn’t been quite as calm as the evening’s results suggested, given the changeable, offshore wind conditions on the course off Malvarossa Beach in Valencia. “It’s precisely in this sort of wind that you have to sail with character. I don’t think I managed to do that in the second race,” said “Platoon Aviation” tactician Vasco Vascotto. In the second race of the day, one might have wished he’d had a stress ball in his powerful hands instead of the water bottles that were being battered about on board.

“Platoon Aviation” was following the victory in Lanzarote at the end of August started the season finale in Valencia with an eleven-point lead over “Sled”. After the first four races, this has grown into a twelve-point cushion over the US yacht in the provisional standings. However, this twelve-point lead by no means guarantees victory in the title race. Not least because the 52 Super Series is contested without any discards. The final results therefore remain virtually open until the very last race, as anything could still happen.

Not dominant, but strong: ‘Platoon Aviation’ off the coast of Valencia

Consequently, the Italian tactician was not satisfied with the German TP. Vasco Vascotto’s take on the race, in which “Platoon Aviation” finished fifth: “We got off to a very good start and were in the lead. And then I perhaps paid too much attention to ‘Sled’…”

Vascotto explained what had caused his frustration: “In these changeable winds, you have to sail your own race. But we lost three out of the four places. A first and a fifth place – Boat of the Day – that’s not a bad result at all, but as I always say: I like to sail well. And the result is always a consequence of how you sail, whether well or badly.”

"I think we could have sailed a bit better today." Vasco Vascotto

Although Vascotto regretted the points lost and, at the end of what was his fourth race overall, also had to concede defeat to “Trinity” in the battle for fourth place, “Platoon Aviation” remains on course for the championship. Just not quite as dominantly as hoped.

The 52 Super Series heads for Thailand

The fact that “Vāyu” topped the 16-boat fleet off Valencia after two days of racing was not only a strong sporting achievement, but also a nice nod to the unusual start to next year’s 52 Super Series season. The fleet will contest the first two races of the 16th season in 2027 in Thailand.

“Vāyu” tactician Manu Weiler, who lives in Mallorca, looked back with satisfaction on his crew’s performance that evening in Valencia: “Yesterday was already a brilliant day. Today was even better. We got off to good starts and adapted to the wind shifts early on. We’ve managed to stay out of trouble and rounded the first mark well. We’re often very good on the first day, but now it seems we’re performing well on the second day too. Let’s hope we can keep it up.”

The 52 Super Series season finale in Valencia will resume on Thursday from 2 pm, is live here via YouTube to watch. Click here to watch the repeat of the broadcast from race day two: