Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship – Bella Mente Racing wraps campaign

by Kirsten Ferguson on 19 Sep 2017 After a week of fighting tooth and nail against Maxi 72 rivals, Bella Mente Racing wrapped up the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championships in Porto Cervo, Sardinia earlier this month, taking third place overall. The regatta is the team’s pinnacle event each year and concludes its 2017 campaign.

“Thanks to the Bella Mente Racing team for their dedication and commitment to our effort this year, and standby for new developments with the boat,” said Owner/Driver Hap Fauth who has helmed Bella Mente in The Maxi 72 Worlds for the last six years, three of those times taking the championship title. “The Maxi 72 fleet gets better and better each year. This past week allowed us to match up against four other top Maxi 72 teams, and it was incredible to see how fast and competitive they all are. A big congratulations to Dieter Schön and his Momo crew, which turned in an excellent performance on the water.'

The regatta started off on a high note for Bella Mente Racing, with the team playing the light winds and shifts to their favor and winning the first day of racing. But as the week progressed, the breeze built, and Momo moved to the front of the pack.

Bella Mente closed the gap between the leading boats significantly on the final day when it finished first and second in the last two races, finishing in third place overall – less than two points behind Momo in first place and less than one point behind Proteus in second place.

“The 2017 Maxi 72 World Championship event was a game of two halves,” said Tactician Terry Hutchinson, adding that Bella Mente’s performance peaked on the days when the breeze was below 12 knots but fell behind when it built to 15 knots and above. “There was a clear distinction between our performance compared to that of the three newer boats (Momo, Cannonball and Proteus), and this gives the team an area of focus as we go into our off season. Collectively, we need to evaluate our performance using sailor impressions and the performance analysis systems in place to develop our work list. The trend that we saw in Porto Cervo has been on display all year, yet I would say that Bella Mente was closer to the others at this event.”

Standby for new developments from Bella Mente Racing.