Consistency and confidence are fundamental to success on a buoyant, highly competitive 52 Super Series this season. No change there! But for sure these are just two of the assets that Terry Hutchinson has brought to circuit leaders American Magic on his return from the America’s Cup.
However, it is fair to add that the recent podiums for Andrea Lacorte’s Alkedo in Galicia and Jean- Luc Petithugenin’s Paprec, which came within a hair’s breadth of winning the Rolex TP52 World Championship, have been built on a solid base of similar qualities.
Conversely, confidence is a little lower among some big teams that have been struggling this season; but this fleet is so close that it will only need a couple of positive changes to completely turn around the fortunes of the likes of Provezza and Platoon.
But first chapeau to the French team on Paprec, outstanding in Cascais at the world championship; another team once considered underdogs who are now regular podium contenders.
‘Loïck Peyron has made a team of them – and let’s not also forget they have a good boat,’ says TP52 Class Manager Rob Weiland. ‘Loïck knows what it takes to build a winning team but he is also learning fast about positioning the boat on a W/L racecourse, which is quite new to him! He always leads by example, always exuding great enthusiasm and belief.’
The circuit’s return to the Mediterranean could well see Provezza and Platoon bouncing right back. Puerto Portals marks the first-year anniversary of the new Provezza and strategist Cole Parada is hoping for some birthday celebrations.
‘Since we almost won the season in 2023 we have built our new boat, and you always build new with expectations of what you will achieve… So far, however, we are well short of meeting those expectations.
'We had some setbacks along the way. Having to change the rig early on was not ideal, we then had a little issue with the sails and rig not matching very well and obviously as the season goes on you have to card [limit] your sails, having committed to new designs early on.
'That left us a little on the back foot. But now we are building new sails again and we will have done some mods to the boat before Portals... hopefully that will have a positive impact!
‘Honestly, I don’t think it is that the boat is not performing. It is a good boat but I think we have lost confidence in how we sail it, plus we need to relearn the new rig and new sails. Upwind we go OK, downwind we still have issues.’
The last two events of the season see the return of Crioula and Teasing Machine. The Brazilian crew of Crioula have everything they need to emulate the successes of Alkedo and Paprec, or Vayu last year, and no lack of confidence in their abilities! They also did well at the ORC Europeans during Copa del Rey. They have a well-sorted boat and have put in plenty of hard miles together as a crew.
Crioula navigator Ricardo Costa enthuses, ‘We are very happy with the boat, it is super-fast and when we don’t make mistakes we can do anything. We have maybe a little bit to go to get on the podium… but you never know!
‘At home the Brazilians were previously cheering for the French, for Paprec. They were the underdogs and we see a lot of us in them. Obviously American Magic Quantum Racing are very fast, they are the benchmark team, so there to be beaten. But when Paprec had the possibility of winning the world championship title in the last race that was really something. And we are good friends with them.
‘But we race at home too and have just won Ilhabela Week, Brazil’s biggest regatta. But (like Paprec) most of our team are also amateurs and so we have to work sometimes as well!!
‘I think we will be in for the whole series next year, that is the plan. Our owners are very happy and really enjoying it. As a team we have sailed together for so many years and are mostly all from the same club. When we have a bad day we take it in our stride, we have no egos and there is no blame, we work out what went wrong and how we improve for next time. I think that is a bit different from some of the big teams.’
Looking ahead to 2026, we know there is one new Botín boat in build for a Swedish owner who is putting together a very professional programme. Plus demand is still very strong for good, wellsorted existing boats for teams wanting to step up and join the circuit. There might be some ‘churn’ for 2026 but so far there are few real indications of this. In terms of venues for next season, the final round still has to be settled in consultation with the owners, the season’s first four events being Puerto Portals (4-9 May), Porto Cervo (15-20 June) and two mid-season events in Lanzarote (20-25 July and 24-29 August).
So 2026 looks set to be quite Spanish in flavour but the intention is to revert to a more international programme the following year, more like 2025 when the circuit was in the USA for the middle part of the racing season. The goal as always is to keep strengthening the 52 Super Series brand, enhancing its values as the world’s leading grand prix monohull circuit, aspirational, relatable but with an achievable pinnacle.
The live TV product is an essential element of a 360-degree marketing strategy that maximises use of all platforms, from the current 26-minute docu-series episodes, to quick-fire responses on Instagram, increasingly engaging a broader target group. In this respect Cascais and a breezy, wavy Rolex TP52 World Championship were the gift that kept on giving every day of the week, and interest went through the roof.
Existing sponsors have signed up again for the foreseeable future and new partnerships are coming together. Within that context the guest spots onboard the raceboats are as popular as you’d expect and part of the constant drive to keep improving the product. There is no let-up.
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