The 48H Azimut ends with a solid second place for Ambrogio, in a race that lasted just over 41 hours. A regatta spent almost entirely at the front — first fighting for the lead with "MACIF Santé Prévoyance", then defending second place against the chasers.
©Lorenzo Sironi
After rounding the southern waypoint alongside "MACIF", the long trek back north turned into an endless upwind, in light air with a weather pattern that ended up rewarding whoever was already ahead. It's one of those situations the English have a perfect expression for: "the rich get richer." The boat in front is first into the new breeze, and from that moment it only gets harder to catch them.
That's exactly what happened with Sam Goodchild. "MACIF" connected first with a stronger atmospheric system and the new south-westerly pressure, pulling away while "Allagrande Mapei" was still stuck in the lighter air. Once the French boat found the new wind it could accelerate, and the gap became virtually impossible to close.
Behind, meanwhile, there was no time to relax. Ambrogio had to keep pushing to hold off the boats chasing him, through a day spent almost entirely upwind — J0 up, light wind and constant pressure shifts.
"From the Azimut waypoint we finally went downwind and it was a great moment. It looked like we might even have to tack to get there, but thankfully the wind finally came around. There wasn't much wind, but there was a big sea running and the conditions weren't that comfortable. But we'll take it — after 250 miles of upwind, finishing with a bit of downwind, I'm happy!"
©Lorenzo Sironi
From there began the final run to Lorient, with the south-westerly expected to back slightly further west and one last small front to read. Up ahead "MACIF" was already too far gone, while behind there were still boats to watch. In the end, none of them got through.
©Manon Le Guen
Ambrogio brings "Allagrande Mapei" home in second place at the 48H Azimut, at the end of a race in which he was in the leading group from start to finish. First side by side with "MACIF" in the long southward run, then forced to let it go once Goodchild found the new wind first, and finally holding off a second place he never gave up until Lorient.
The win didn't come, but another race run at the front did — and confirmation that the new V3 foil setup is more than competitive.
"I'm very happy with this second place. I got a great start, even though that's not really my strong suit, and I managed the race much better than usual. I think I made very few mistakes.
We sailed very close to "MACIF" for a long time, but as soon as the wind dropped a little, Goodchild managed to pull away. In those conditions his boat is impressive — I simply couldn't go any faster. I would have liked to find him closer on the last leg, after the Azimut mark, when "Allagrande Mapei" really started going fast — but that's for next time!
I'm still learning the boat with its new foils and, honestly, I didn't think it would be possible to sustain these speeds. I'm really having so much fun discovering it. It's exciting to find the right settings every time the sea conditions change, and I put everything into it.
And then, what a pleasure to cross the finish line without breaking anything! I could leave again straight away. The boat is perfect. This race is also a confirmation of all the work the Allagrande Mapei team has done on the boat and gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the season."
©Lorenzo Sironi
On board with him was Lorenzo Sironi. "He's incredible, Lorenzo — the images he produces are something else," said Ambrogio straight after the finish. Then, with a grin: "I've never drunk so much coffee on board in my life. Normally I don't bother making it — it takes too long. But there was Lorenzo, coffee on tap."
©Jean-Louis Carli
The finish
Lamberto Cesari
