With no racing possible due to the absence of wind today, Doug DeVos’s Quantum Racing secured the 52 Super Series Barcelona Week title – their fourth regatta title of the five events this year – and in so doing conclusively win the 2022 season championship.
As one of the four teams that inaugurated the 52 Super Series on these same waters in May 2012, theirs is a popular and well deserved 2022 title victory. Not least because owner-driver DeVos is one of the founders of what remains the world’s leading grand prix monohull circuit.
He steered his team to regatta wins in Baiona, Scarlino and now Barcelona, as well as also taking the Rolex TP52 World Championship in Cascais, the second event of the season.
Though they may have won four from five, each regatta win has gone right to the wire, all going down to the last race of the last day, highlighting how closely matched the Series fleet is now.
With Terry Hutchinson calling tactics on the USA TP52, supported by Argentina’s Olympic bronze medal winner Lucas Calabrese as strategist and Italian Michele Ivaldi as navigator, Quantum Racing won the season championship by 12 points, She finished ahead of Hasso and Tina Plattner’s Phoenix after 43 races at five regattas. Harm Müller Spreer’s Platoon took third spot on the podium.
Steering her first event since February 2020, Tina Plattner and crew had sailed themselves to within three points of catching Quantum after a first, second and third on Thursday. However, on Friday they were over the start line and doubly punished by the light, light winds as they ghosted to 10th, 15 minutes behind race winners Quantum Racing.
Coming after a windy, wavy regatta in Tuscany, Italy earlier in the month the circuit had come to Barcelona to return to its roots and celebrate 10 successful years. However, the 10-boat fleet was starved of wind entirely for two days, with no racing, so only five races could be completed.
Quantum Racing won two of them and ended the regatta two points ahead of Platoon, while Ergin Imré’s Provezza took third but only on tie-break with Andy Soriano’s Alegre.
Hutchinson said smiling, “You can’t underestimate Doug’s influence on the whole program. How cool is it that we sailed four out of the five regattas with him, We won those and the one I steered, we came fourth. It tells you something about the whole team.
Phoenix tactician, Tom Slingsby said, “We are happy with second overall. It’s a great result for the Phoenix team. We were fortunate to win our first regatta in Puerto Portals amongst that. The best team won the series, the best team won the worlds, but we’re happy that we got into second.”
The end of the 2022 season completes the first 10 years of the 52 Super Series history. Since it started in May 2012, the circuit has attracted 30 teams of 15 nationalities, and contested 51 events at 17 venues in six countries and three continents (Europe, America and Africa). Quantum Racing and Tony Langley’s Gladiator are the only teams to have participated in all 10 seasons.
This victory confirms Quantum Racing’s status as the most successful team in the history of the Series. The 2022 title is the team’s fifth overall crown, after those won in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Final standings:
Quantum Racing (USA), Doug DeVos, 1+4+4+6+1 = 16 pts.
Platoon (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 4+2+5+1+6 = 18 pts.
Provezza (TUR), Ergin Imre, 3+1+7+5+3 = 19 pts.
Alegre (GBR), Andy Soriano, 2+5+2+3+7 = 19 pts
Phoenix (RSA), Hasso & Tina Plattner, 7+3+1+2+10 = 23 pts.
Sled (USA), Takashi Okura, 5+6+6+4+5 = 26 pts.
Interlodge (USA), Austin & Gwen Fragomen, 6+7+8+9+2 = 32 pts.
Vayu (THA), Whitcraft Family, 8+10+3+8+9 = 38 pts.
Gladiator (GBR), Tony Langley, 9+9+9+7+4 = 38 pts.
Paprec (FRA), Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, 10+8+10+10+8 = 46 pts.
