Now in his eleventh year of competing in the Super Series, Harm Müller-Spreer can look back on more than a decade of success in the league. Three years ago, the Hamburg-based driver and his “Platoon Aviation” team won the coveted season title for the first time. Prior to that, they had clinched the world championship title three times – in 2017, 2019 and 2023.
52 Super Series: Showdown ahead of Valencia
Now, the owner and helmsman, competing for the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, and his team have earned themselves another chance at a season title. The title will be decided next week off the coast of Valencia, where the fleet will gather for the final round. The first race will take place on Tuesday, following the practice races scheduled for Monday. Ten races are on the programme, at the end of which the league will crown its season champions.
The focus of the upcoming Spain Week will be on a rivalry that has intensified over the course of the year: Harm Müller-Spreer’s “Platoon Aviation” versus Takashi Okura’s “Sled”. The regatta will draw to a close on 10 October, with both the event and the season being decided. The background looks promising for “Platoon Aviation”, but is by no means certain.
Müller-Spreer and his team arrived in Valencia as league leaders on 171 points, eleven points clear of “Sled” (182 points). This balance of power has resulted in placings of 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 1st for “Platoon Aviation” and 1st, 1st, 3rd and 5th for “Sled”. The season’s trend therefore also favours the only German team on the circuit. The gap between the third-placed Italian team “Alkedo Cetilar” (217 points) and “Platoon Aviation” is already very large at 46 points.
Ahead of the final: “Platoon Aviation” has the lead and the momentum on its side
Yet the season was by no means a walk in the park for Harm Müller-Spreer and his team. In the opening race at Puerto Portals, “Platoon Aviation” had to concede victory to “Sled”. At the same time, the GER boat’s second-place finish meant it was within striking distance of the top right from the start. A similar picture emerged at the Rolex TP52 World Championship – the second regatta of this year’s 52 Super Series. “Sled” claimed the world title, whilst “Platoon Aviation” finished third.
In the season’s standings, “Platoon Aviation” initially found themselves 15 points behind. Even in the Marina Rubicón Sailing Week off the coast of Lanzarote ‘Sled’ was ahead of ‘Platoon Aviation’, though this time they were in third and fourth place. The ‘game-changer’ came in the form of the Puerto Calero Lanzarote Royal Cup.
“Platoon Aviation” dominated the regatta and secured their first event victory since September 2024. At the same time, “Sled” could only manage fifth place following technical problems and, as a result, lost its lead in the standings just before the Valencia finale, of all places. Harm Müller-Spreer noted that, after numerous technical issues and minor teething problems, his team had finally got the boat to a stage “where it is truly competitive”.
“We’re feeling good. I think we can win. That’s the main goal we set ourselves at the start of the season. Nothing has changed in that respect.” Harm Müller-Spreer
Harm Müller-Spreer’s interim assessment ahead of the Valencia showdown was positive: “It took a while for this boat to perform really well, but now I feel that we have the right boat for the job and a team with the necessary experience and ambition.” His rivals share a similar view.
Final clash in the 52 Super Series: league leaders vs. world champions
“Sled” project manager and mainsheet trimmer Don Cowie predicted: “It’s going to be a close regatta. We’ll give it our all right up to the last race. We’ve seen how ‘Platoon’ has dramatically improved its performance over the last two or three regattas.” Cowie did not hold back with his criticism of his own team either: “I think we can’t afford to pick up any more silly penalties like the ones we’ve had. We’ve also had equipment failures that have cost us nine points. We’re not sailing as well as we were before; we need to improve our starts and sail solid races.”
This is not the first time in its history in the 52 Super Series that Team Platoon Aviation appears to have hit top form as the season reaches its climax. Whether it will be enough to secure a second league title following 2023 will become clear by 10 October at the latest. Click here The schedule for the 52 Super Series Valencia Sailing Week.
Click here to watch the 52 Super Series clip for the Valencia final:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter