Marina Rubicon Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week
Takashi Okura’s Sled team clinched the Rolex TP52 World Championship title in Porto Cervo, Sardinia today with a typically assured third place finish achieved in the biggest, most competitive fleet of 15 boats from 11 different nations. It is the third time in a row Sled have won in Porto Cervo and their third successive 52 SUPER SERIES regatta victory
Under pressure in today’s one and only decisive race Takashi Okura’s international team led by Italian Francesco Bruni and six times America’s Cup winner, Kiwi Murray Jones, pushed the risk factor a little more on the start line. That allowed them to control their main title rivals on the first upwind.
While Sweden’s Trinity Racing, newcomers to the 52 SUPER SERIES this season, went on to win the race and take second overall, Sled stayed in touch to lift the title by two clear points from the Swedes who forged a late title charge winning the last two races of the regatta.
For Sled it is their second world championship title after last winning in strong breezes in Palma, Majorca in November 2021. This time they mastered the intense tactical challenge presented by a fleet of 15 very evenly matched boats and crews competing across five very similar consecutive days of light sea breeze conditions and flat water.
Porto Cervo and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda has become an extra special place for the Sled team which sets a record for winning each of the last three times the world’s leading grand prix monohull circuit has visited in 2019 – when they blitzed the fleet winning five races on the bounce – triumphing at last year’s final regatta of the year and now at this world championship. And Mr Okura’s team have taken victory at the last three 52 SUPER SERIES events after opening 2026 with victory last month in Puerto Portals, Mallorca.
Team manager, mainsheet trimmer Don Cowie smiled, “For any team to win a world championship especially from such a tight regatta, like with five or six boats going into today with an opportunity to win, by having a really good last race that makes you feel really good. I think in that last race we finally started well when it really counted. We had not started really that well this week, in the lighter air it is a little trickier, we had a nice start and we all did a good job I think. In reality there was a lot of pressure on today and we managed to do a little bit better than the other teams. We sail well together. We calm each other down if it gets a little heated on the boat. And we all respect each other’s roles on the boat. That is really important.”
Finishing runners up at just their second TP52 regatta ever is a very impressive result for Joakim Sundberg and the Trinity Racing team. The cool Swede showed incredible focus and concentration on the helm of his new 2026 launched boat whilst Ed Baird ensured the crew remained sure footed, sticking to a simple plan each race which kept them very much out of trouble. Sundberg received the award for top owner-driver.
“None of us can believe this is happening. To have had our second and third race wins this early season and to finish strong like we did. It is fantastic. We just talked about how important it was t approach this race like any other, not to get excited, and the team did that. But if anyone had told we’d even have a chance to do this well going into this regatta I would have said ‘you are crazy’. The guys did such a great job working hard and just getting better every day.” said tactician Ed Baird of the team which includes veteran Swedish navigator Johan Barne and America’s Cup winner Rossco Halcrow.
Germany’s three times world champions Platoon Aviation secured third place on the podium with second place today. Owner-driver Harm Müller Spreer enthused, “Third is all we could achieve after a really bad day yesterday and just the one race today. I am happy with the result. What you can see in general is that the performances of all the teams has gone up. There are more good teams than ever.”
There was big disappointment for Hong Kong’s Alpha Plus team who led into the final race by a point ahead of Sled. They started to the left of their two main title rivals and could not get to the favoured right faster than Sled and Trinity Racing. They were rolled by Paprec, losing speed at a key stage early in the first downwind and could not recover. Finishing fourth they missed the podium by a couple of points,
“It is gutting. It is so tough in this fleet and everyone pushes so hard. We are proud of how we sailed this week, if at the end of the first day you said we would finish in fourth we’d have taken that but right now it hurts.” Grimaced Alpha Plus’ Luke Van Der Kamp.
Sled extend their 52 SUPER SERIES circuit lead to 15 points over Platoon Aviation while Andrea Lacrorte’s Alkedo Vitamina are now third ten points behind Platoon.
Heading to Lanzarote
With the second event of the season now complete, the 52 SUPER SERIES is heading to Lanzarote, where the next two rounds of the 2026 circuit will take place: the Marina Rubicón Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week (20–25 July) and the Puerto Calero Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Royal Cup (24–29 August). From the Canary Islands, the fleet will return to the Mediterranean, where the season’s grand finale will take place: the 52 SUPER SERIES Valencia Sailing Week, from 5 to 10 October.
Rolex TP52 World Championship Porto Cervo 2026 final results
1. Sled, Takashi Okura, 5+1+6+12+5+2+4+9+3 = 47
2. Trinity (SWE), Joakim Sundberg, 10+13+3+2+12+4+3+1+1 = 49
3. Platoon Aviation (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 4+6+9+6+2+6+10+8+2 = 53
4. Alpha + (HKG), Shawn & Tina Kang, 12+12+2+1+3+1+5+7+12 = 55
5. Alkedo Vitamina (ITA), Andrea Lacorte, 1+9+10+5+6+14+2+4+5 = 56
6. Paprec (FRA), Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, 13+4+1+3+4+9+8+11+8 = 61
7. No Way Back (NED), Pieter Heerema, 6+2+7+8+8+3+13+15+7 = 69
8. Provezza (TUR), Ergin Imre, 8+10+5+13+7+5+11+3+9 = 71
9. Alegre (GBR), Andy Soriano, 11+8+4+10+11+7+9+6+6 = 72
10. Vayu (THA), Whitcraft Family, 3+3+14+11+9+10+1+12+10 = 73
11. Crioula (BRA), Eduardo & Renato Plass, 7+11+13+14+1+8+6+2+14 = 76
12. Teasing Machine (FRA), Eric de Turckheim, 2+14+11+9+10+11+7+5+13 = 82
13. Gladiator (GBR), Tony Langley, 15+5+8+4+15+15+12+10+4 = 88
14. Caballo Loco (BRA), Mauro Dottori & Fabio Cotrim, 9+7+15+7+13+13+14+13+11 = 102
15. Vudu (ITA), Mauro Gestri, 14+15+12+15+14+12+15+14+15 = 126
52 SUPER SERIES 2026 Leaderboard after two regattas
1. Sled, Takashi Okura, 42+47 = 89 points
2. Platoon Aviation (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 51+53 = 104
3. Alkedo Vitamina (ITA), Andrea Lacorte, 58+56 = 114
4. No Way Back (NED), Pieter Heerema, 52+69 = 121
5. Trinity Racing (SWE), Joakim Sundberg, 73+49 = 122
6. Alpha + (HKG), Shawn & Tina Kang, 67+55 = 122
7. Provezza (TUR), Ergin Imre, 56+71 = 127
8. Paprec (FRA), Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, 72+61 = 133
9. Crioula (BRA), Eduardo & Renato Plass, 59+76 = 135
10. Gladiator (GBR), Tony Langley, 59+88 = 147
11. Vayu (THA), Whitcraft Family, 86+73 = 159
12. Alegre (GBR), Andy Soriano, 90+72 = 162
13. Teasing Machine (FRA), Eric de Turckheim, 83+82 = 165
14. Caballo Loco (BRA), Mauro Dottori & Fabio Cotrim, 100+102 = 202
15. Vudu (ITA), Mauro Gestri, 135+126 = 261
