MELGES 32 SAILING SERIES - Balestrero Moves Into Porto Ercole Lead

Three additional races in Porto Ercole results in three separate race winners, points race remains tight.   Porto Ercole, Italy - Day Two at the Porto Ercole edition of the 2016 Sailing Series® was very exciting as Matteo Balestrero aboard La Spezia Sailing Team/Giogi shined bright with a 3-3-1 daily scoreline. Six races are now complete with a discard in play, resulting in Balestrero throwing a out a fifth leaving him with a string of finishes no worse than a third, ultimately placing him in the overall lead.

"We can truly say that there is no trick to defending our leadership as we head into the final day of racing, although we will do our very best to keep it," said a happy and satisfied Balestrero. "Today, everything seemed to go smoothly and thanks to our tactician Daniele Cassinari, he made sure we went the right way and kept us from making any big mistakes. But, this event is far from over yet."

The light and unstable breeze obviously played to Balestrero's strengths, but he was not alone.

Andrea LaCorte helming Vitamina and Norwegian Lasse Petterson on Pippa both celebrated a great day advancing into the top five to sit fourth and fifth respectively. LaCorte came on strong right out of the gate to win Race Four. Petterson traded places to win Race Five.

Overnight leader Richard Goransson aboard Inga From Sweden slipped a position in the overnight standings, now seated second overall but certainly not out of reach of redemption.

Achille Onorato at the helm of Mascalzone Latino also fell one spot to finish the day in third.

More racing, the final two races are scheduled for Sunday.

MEDIA AND RACING COVERAGE

As with all other Melges 32 events around the world, racing updates will be posted online at the Official Melges 32 Facebook Page. Tune in for the latest racing information, results, video interviews, and photos. Race reports, press releases and photos will be available online each day post racing at melges32.com.

TOP FIVE RESULTS (PRELIMINARY - After Six Races, One Discard)
1.) Matteo Balestrero, La Spezia Sailing Team/Giogi; [5]-3-2-3-3-1 = 12
2.) Richard Goransson, Inga From Sweden; 6-1-1-4-6-[7] = 18
3.) Achille Onorato, Mascalzone Latino; 1-4-5-7-4-[8] = 21
4.) Andrea LaCorte, Vitamina; 9-[10]-6-1-2-4 = 22
5.) Lasse Pettersen, Pippa; 10-5-[11]-2-1-6 = 24
View Full Results