Near Miss wins GP42 practice race at Audi Mapfre
Today's practice race marked the start of the fourth rendez-vous of the Quebramar Cup, the GP42 International circuit at one of the most reknowned Spanish regattas, the Copa del Rey Audi Mapfre, in Palma de Mallorca.
'Quebramar Cup - Audi Mapfre'
Ingrid Abery © Copyright
The seven-strong fleet was welcomed on the race area by a good breeze that allowed two practice starts and a windward/leeward race. On each of the GP42s a representative of the International media was also hosted. They so enjoyed the fun and excitement of sailing on a GP42 that all of them expressed very positive comments on the boats' performances and on the crews' navigation skills.
The race was sailed in a good breeze, locally know as 'Garb?' that blew at around 16 knots for the start and went gradually down to 10 at the finish, but nonetheless enough to guarantee close and intense racing.
After four legs it was the Swiss crew of Near Miss, led by French helmsman Bertrand Pac? to cross the finish line with a good lead on the Spanish from Desafio, with Laureano Wizner at the helm who succeeded in overtaking the Italians of Roma GP42.2, skippered by Paolo Cian with S?bastien Col calling tactics, who finished on the lower step of the podium.
Luckily enough it was only a practice race today for the Spanish of Caser Quum, who were forced to retire due to a broken spinnaker.
With today's race all the team could put the final touches to their preparation, fine tuning their boats and see the latest details for the coming week. The fourth event of the QUEBRAMAR GP42 Cup will me made of a maximum of nine windward/leeward races, all extremely important for the definition of the circuit scoreboard. 
Practice race results:
1. Near Miss - Switzerland
2. Desafio - Spain
3. Roma GP42.2 - Italy
4. Madrid - Spain
5. Airis - Italy
6. Canarias - Spain
DNF. Caser Quum - Spain 
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