TestaCuore Race of Giacomo Loro Piana Wins the Second 151 Miglia Challenge Trophy in Italy
The 14th edition of the 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar, the offshore regatta that started on Thursday, June 1st from Livorno with 180 boats and over 2000 sailors lined up at the starting line, ended on Saturday, June 3rd in Punta Ala. A 151 Miglia characterised by very light wind conditions, so much so that the Race Committee, before the start, had already decided to shorten the course from 151 to 124 miles, skipping the passage to the Formiche di Grosseto.
With the last boats crossing the finish line in front of the Marina di Punta Ala only on Saturday morning, the Line Honours of the 151 Miglia Challenge Trophy went to the 100' Australian Super Maxi Black Jack of Peter Harburg and with the famous New Zealander Brad Butterworth as skipper, first crossing the line at 1.18 pm on Friday, after sailing for over 23 hours. With this achievement they win Porto di Pisa 151 Miglia "Fast Sprint" Trophy.
Winning the 151 Miglia Challenge Trophy is Giacomo Loro Piana's Cookson 50 TestaCuore Race, which thanks to a strategically perfect race got the better of over 120 boats in the ORC International grouping (as well as in the ORC A group), a super-competitive fleet that could do nothing against the sumptuous performance of the crew racing for the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
"We are overjoyed. The 151 Miglia is a regatta that we love and have been participating in for many years, so winning the most important prize is a huge satisfaction for our whole crew," says Giacomo Loro Piana, owner of TestaCuore Race. "In previous years we had participated with one of the smallest boats in the entire fleet, this year we aimed for something more and this exceptional success has arrived, so we could not ask for better. I would like to thank the entire 151 Miglia organisation, which as always is fantastic," he says.
"It was a very beautiful and gratifying victory, which we enjoy to the full because it came in a regatta that we really appreciate and that we have always experienced with great enthusiasm. And then because winning an overall classification with over 120 boats is never trivial," adds Francesco Ivaldi, former Italian national Olympic team skipper and tactician of a crew that also includes Pietro Loro Piana, Guglielmo Giordano, Stefano Bonadeo, Fiammetta Cicogna, Matteo Bert, Francois Cartagenova, Martino Properzi and Nicolas Savoini.
"We like to experience regattas not only with professionalism but with the aim of having fun and feeling good in the boat. We are a group of friends who race for the pleasure of it, to experience sailing in all its nuances, looking at the result, of course, but always with the right spirit. Therefore, to be able to bring home such an important trophy is worth double".
The other prize-winners of this 151 Miglia-Trofeo Cetilar 2023 in ORC classes are:
Giovanna Cangitano's Chilavista (ORC DH), Jacopo Poli's Clan (ORC D and IOR Legend Roberto Fusco Trophy), Massimo Agostini's La Belle (ORC GC2), Alessio Cecchetti's My Way (ORC GC1), Fabrizio Gagliardi's Excalibur E-Cubit (ORC C) and Carlandrea Simonelli's Fantaghirò (ORC B).
"Unfortunately, I am not in Punta Ala today due to an unforeseeable commitment, but my heart is there, with the 151 Miglia community, to experience the final stages of a beautiful edition of our regatta," says Roberto Lacorte, President of the Yacht Club Repubblica Marinara di Pisa, who flew to Le Mans, France, to take part in first person, at the wheel of a prototype, in the famous 24 Hours. "I want to thank once again all the people who once again this year have made the 151 Miglia an extraordinary event: we look forward to seeing you next year, for an even more beautiful 151".
"Even though the wind this year was lacking, in the end, it was still a great 151 Miglia," were the words of Gian Luca Conti, President of the Yacht Club Livorno. "By now, participation in the 151 is always at a very high level, both qualitatively and quantitatively. And this edition was no exception. Seeing so many boats in Livorno before the start on Thursday was an indescribable emotion and a source of pride for all of us."
"It was a beautiful and exciting regatta again this year: although the weather conditions at the start gave us cause for concern, the boats almost all arrived at the finish line and in a reasonable time. The record was not broken, but it was still a splendid edition," concludes Alessandro Masini, President of the Punta Ala Yacht Club. "To have the Navy's Vulcano ship in the background, welcoming the boats at the finish line, was a great satisfaction".
