ORC World Championship 2026 Sorrento: Three Races Completed on Day Two of the Inshore Series
May 12, 2026 - Sorrento, Italy - The ORC World Championship 2026, taking place between Naples and Sorrento from 6 to 14 May, continued at full pace today with the second day of inshore racing, once again delivering action and tight competition across all classes.
Organised by the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia, in collaboration with the Yacht Club Italiano (Genoa) and the Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia, in conjunction with the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC), and supported by Rolex and Loro Piana, the championship continues to confirm its status as a key event on the international offshore sailing calendar.
The forecasted 19-knot breeze did not materialise, but despite this, all four classes managed to complete three windward-leeward races. Conditions varied throughout the day, from 10–12 knots in the opening race, dropping to 8–9 knots, before building again for the final start. Crews returned ashore tired under the warm May sun, but enthusiastic about the high level of racing.
Once again, the racing was extremely competitive, particularly in Class 0, where the TP52 Summer Storm of Andrew Berdon strengthened her provisional lead by winning all three races of the day. In the opening race, Xio of Marco Serafini, tied on points with Summer Storm 52 and featuring Gabriele Benussi on tactics, was later forced to retire due to a broken spreader at the start of Race 2.
Second overall after five races is Italy’s WallyRocket 51 RocketNikka of Roberto Lacorte, with Lorenzo Bressani calling tactics, following a strong day with a third place and two second-place finishes. The TP52 Vudu of Mauro Gestri (ITA) sits just behind in third overall.
“It was a very tactical day, with lighter wind than expected and very similar boat speeds, so every decision made the difference,” said Lorenzo Bressani, tactician of RocketNikka. “We made good calls, with a bit of luck as well. In these conditions, it takes very little to gain or lose several positions. Everything is still wide open and can change again tomorrow.”
Comments from Lorenzo Bressani
In Class A, the reigning World Champion, Carkeek 40+ Ran of Sweden’s Niklas Zennström maintains the lead with a solid margin over the Swan 42 Morgan V of Nicola De Gemmis, while another Swedish entry, the GP42 Garm 42 of Per Roman, remains in third place.
“Three races and very variable conditions — a full-on day,” commented Adrian Stead, tactician of Ran. “The wind dropped significantly in the first race, making things tricky. We managed the situations well and posted consistent results, including a win in the final race. The level of competition is extremely high, and racing here in the Gulf of Naples is always special. Now we’re focused on tomorrow’s coastal race.”
In Class B, the Maltese X-41 Technonicol of Georgi Kolesnikov leads the standings with a solid margin after winning two races today. Eight points behind is Argentina’s Katara of Julian Somodi (PG390), while To Be, the Italia Yachts 11.98 of Stefano Rusconi, sits in third place.
“After getting through the offshore race, we feel more relaxed, and today we gave everything in the inshore races,” said Mati Sepp, helmsman and skipper of Technonicol, ORC Class B European Champion in 2025 and 2018. “We started well in all three races and adopted a conservative approach, pushing only when needed. Conditions were difficult to read and different from the forecasts, but we managed them well. We’ve been sailing this boat for over 15 years, and that allows us to get the most out of it — that’s our real strength.”
Class C was the last to finish racing and return ashore. Cyprus’ Vrolijk 37 Freedom 24 of Evgenii Tiapkin currently leads, followed by Italy’s Italia Yachts 9.98 Lady Day 998 of Corrado Annis, with Spain’s Salona 37 Diputación de Huelva DE/6 (Asociación Deportiva Canaleta) in third place.
Tomorrow will feature the coastal race around the island of Capri, with a first warning signal scheduled for 11 am – one of the most anticipated moments of the week, before the championship concludes with the final inshore races on Thursday.
The race can be followed live via TracTrac Live tracking available here.
Summary of the results
ORC 0 – Top 3 after 5 races
- 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗠 (TP52, USA) - Andrew Berdon 1-1-1.5-1-1 5.5 pts
- 𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗞𝗔 (Wallyrocket 51, ITA) - Roberto Lacorte 4-5-3-2-2 16 pts
- 𝗩𝗨𝗗𝗨 (TP52, ITA) - Mauro Gestri 2-2-4-10-4 22 pts
ORC A – Top 3 after 5 races
- 𝗥𝗔𝗡 (Carkeek 40+, SWE) - Niklas Zennström 4-2-4-2.5-1 13.5 pts
- 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗔𝗡 𝗩 (Swan 42, ITA) - Nicola De Gemmis 1-8-6-2.5-8 25.5 pts
- 𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝟰𝟮 (GP42, SWE) - Per Roman 8-3-11-4-5 31 pts
ORC B – Top 3 after 5 races
- 𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗢𝗟 (X-41, MLT) - Georgi Kolesnikov 5-4-1-1-2 13 pts
- 𝗞𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗔 (PG390, ARG) - Julian Somodi 2-7-3-6-3 21 pts
- 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 (Italia 11.98, ITA) - Stefano Rusconi 1-3-7-3-10 24 pts
ORC C – Top 3 after 5 races
- 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗢𝗠 𝟮𝟰 (Vrolijk 37, CYP) - Evgenii Tiapkin 3-6-8-15-1 33 pts
- 𝗟𝗔𝗗𝗬 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟵𝟵𝟴 (Italia 9.98 F, ITA) - Corrado Annis 6-4-14-8-4 36 pts
- 𝗗𝗜𝗣𝗨𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗗𝗘 𝗛𝗨𝗘𝗟𝗩𝗔 𝗗𝗘/𝟲 (Salona 37, ESP) - Asociación Deportiva Canaleta 10-2-15-7-3 37 pts
The event is supported by leading partners including Rolex and Loro Piana, as well as North Sails, Deloitte, Ferrarelle, Ottogas, Garmin, Banca Patrimoni Sella & C., Caffè Borbone and Azimut Investimenti.
ORC Partners are Vennvind, TracTrac, PredictWind, Garmin and Leica Geosystems.
2026 ORC World Championship in Naples & Sorrento, Italy
ORC Event Website: orc.org/worlds2026
Website: tregolfisailingweek.com/en/orc-world-championship-2026
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