Marina di Scarlino – Having started slowly due to an OCS in the third race, the American Rowdy team’s participation in the first leg of the J/70 Cup 2026 proved a success. Both yesterday and today, Richard Witzel’s team set the pace, gaining points and positions to emerge as the overall winner of the leg, organized by J/70 Italian Class in collaboration with the Yacht Club Toscana.

The event concluded with a total of eight valid races, confirming the renowned qualities of the Tuscan race course and the skills of the Race Officers coordinated by Carlo Tosi. The winner of the J/70 Cup 2024 completed the race on the final day, which began late to wait for the breeze to build. Once between the buoys, Witzel’s team overcame an excellent gSpot from Matteo Marenghi Vaselli, still in the spotlight after his victory at the Primo Cup in Monte Carlo and finishing just one point behind the leader, and J-Curve from Mauro Roversi, another top performer in the class.

Completing the top five of this leg, which included around twenty crews and was archived with the completion of the program, were Manfredo Toninelli’s T.One and Gianfranco Noè’s White Hawk, the best result among the Corinthians. Successes among the OnePros went to JB Sailing Team, led by J/70 Italian Class President Federico Siragna, while among the MixedPlus, Stefano Roberti’s Piccinina took glory.

The leg concluded with the awards ceremony held at the clubhouse of the Yacht Club Toscana, the event’s gracious host.

The J/70 Italian Class is supported by Lincoln International, Garmin, VelaMania, North Sails Collection, UtilGraph, Gottifredi Maffioli, and Gin Vento.

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