TP52 World Championship: Battled their way onto the podium – World Championship bronze for “Platoon Aviation”

They had set out to compete for gold but ended up with bronze. The fact that Harm Müller-Spreer and his “Platoon Aviation” team were still happy with this result was down to their poor performance on the penultimate day. Previously well placed in the title race at the TP52 World Championship, they had slipped back to 10th and 8th place on “Black Friday” in a field of 15 TP boats from eleven nations. When only one race could be held on the final day, things got tight for the team on the only German yacht in the field.

Müller-Spreer “pleased” with TP52 World Championship bronze

But then, in Saturday’s final sprint, owner and helmsman Harm Müller-Spreer, tactician Vasco Vascotto, strategist Jordi Calafat and the crew impressed both themselves and the observers by finishing second as in the first third of the series. As is so often the case, the team competing for the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein showed fighting spirit and composure in the decisive race. Harm Müller-Spreer said afterwards: “Third place is all we could manage after a really bad day yesterday and just a single race today. I’m satisfied with the result.”

Anyone familiar with the Hamburg native knows that he doesn’t go around saying things like that about third-place finishes every day. The pictures from the prize-giving ceremony showed that he really meant it. Following the shock results of the previous day, second place in the ninth and final race of the TP52 World Championship felt like a breath of fresh air. Like their top rivals, the experienced three-time TP52 world champion Harm Müller-Spreer and his crew now have to fight hard to hold their own at the top of the class, which is also known as the “little sister of the America’s Cup”.

​“Generally speaking, it’s clear that the standard of all the teams has risen. There are more good teams than ever before.” Harm Müller-Spreer

For Takashi Okura’s “Sled”, the final day of the TP52 World Championship saw three of a kind in more ways than one: the team, skippered by the experienced America’s Cup sailor Francesco Bruni, clinched the world championship gold with a third-place finish in the final race. The title marked the team’s third consecutive event victory in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, where Bruni lives. It was also their third consecutive victory in a 52 Super Series regatta.

TP52 World Championship: victory through risk-taking and control

Taking a slightly bigger risk than usual, the “Sled” crew got off to a good start in the decisive final race, which they capitalised on during the first upwind leg to keep their rivals at bay. Whilst the Swedish team Trinity Racing, new to the 52 Super Series this season, won the race and secured World Championship silver, “Sled” stayed in contention and clinched the title with a total of 47 points, two points ahead of the Swedes (49 points). “Platoon Aviation” finished on the podium with 53 points.

“Sled” won the most prestigious title in the 52 Super Series for the second time since 2021 at this TP52 World Championship, which continues from 20 to 25 July as part of the Marina Rubicon Lanzarote Sailing Week. The “Sled” team pulled off this coup during a week on the Costa Smeralda characterised by light winds and calm seas, where Porto Cervo and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda have become special places for the owner from the New York Yacht Club and his team. “Sled” tactician Ed Baird said: “None of us can believe that this has actually happened.”

"If someone had told me before this regatta started that we’d have any chance at all of doing so well, I’d have said, ‘You’re mad.’” Ed Baird

Where there are winners, there are also losers. The “Alpha Plus” crew were hit particularly hard. The Hong Kong team had been leading by a single point going into the final race. That lead vanished when they failed to get to the favoured right-hand side any faster than Sled and Trinity Racing. “Alpha Plus” was also overtaken by “Paprec”, lost speed at a crucial moment early on the first downwind leg and was unable to make up the deficit.

A disappointing fourth place

Finishing fourth, the team missed out on a podium place by two points, with “Platoon Aviation” finishing two points ahead of the Hong Kong team. Their team manager, Luke Van Der Kamp, said: “That’s really bitter. It’s so tough in this fleet. Everyone is giving it their all. If someone had told us at the end of the first day that we’d finish fourth, we’d have gladly taken that. But right now, it hurts.”

In the 52 Super Series season championship, “Sled” (89 points) has extended its lead to 15 points. Harm Müller-Spreer’s “Platoon Aviation” (104 points) remains in second place. Next comes the Italian yacht “Alkedo Vitamina” (114 points). Click here for the 52 Super Series standings and the results of the TP52 World Championship in Porto Cervo.

REPLAY! The broadcast of the final day of the TP52 World Championship from Porto Cervo: