CYCA Member Neville Crichton debuts his new 71ft Alfa Romeo with four line honours wins

• NEWS
• 06 Aug, 2009 08:45:00 PM

CYCA Member Neville Crichton debuts his new 71ft Alfa Romeo with four line honours wins

CYCA Member Neville Crichton has just debuted his new 71 foot pocket maxi Alfa Romeo winning its first four races whilst competing in the 2009 Copa del Rey in Majorca. This win comes hot on the heels of Crichton’s win in the Transpac Race in his 100ft Alfa Romeo and proves that he will be one man to watch in the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race when he brings the 100 foot maxi Alfa Romeo to Australia.

CYCA Member Neville Crichton has just debuted his new 71 foot pocket maxi Alfa Romeo winning its first four races whilst competing in the 2009 Copa del Rey in Majorca.  This win comes hot on the heels of Crichton’s win in the Transpac Race in his 100ft Alfa Romeo and proves that he will be one man to watch in the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race when he brings the 100 foot maxi Alfa Romeo to Australia.

Competing in the 2009 Copa del Rey in Majorca, Neville Crichton and his new Alfa Romeo fulfilled expectations by winning the first four races in the 10 race/six day event.  The pocket maxi is beginning to establish her own racing pedigree and list of achievements that the Alfa Romeo sailing team is known for.

The start of the first race for the IRC class was postponed by 1 hour and 20 minutes, until the sea breeze built in the Bravo sailing area, the most central of the three courses for the windward-leeward races.

Alfa Romeo took no risks and started to the left-hand side of the area, and was able to round the first top mark at the head of the group, maintaining this position till the end of the race. Bellamente was second and Container was third.  A 17 knot wind, known locally as the Embat Wind, provided a fantastic show of pocket maxis on the water during the second race, which was much tighter.  Alfa Romeo was first again, followed by Bellamente just 17 seconds behind, and Container third again.

The second day's light conditions favoured the big boats of the IRC group enabling Alfa Romeo to remain undefeated after comfortably winning, by an even larger margin than day one, both races.

Overall Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo leads the event, with Hap Udo Schuetz's Container second in the overall classification, and Hap Fauth's American Bellamente remains third, confirming the leadership of the Mini Maxis in the group.

"With the new Alfa Romeo just in the water weeks before the Copa del Rey, we are treating this event as a training event and an opportunity to get to know the new yacht,” said Neville Crichton.

"To score two wins straight out of the box on the first day of racing is a very welcome result and points to good results for this yacht in coming events.  It also means that the third generation of yachts to wear the Alfa Romeo name can also lay claim to the titles of proven winner and the yacht to beat!”

The results from the first two days confirm that Alfa Romeo is currently the fastest boat in the IRC fleet, as well as possessing a crew with the best understanding of the conditions the Gulf of Palma.