The Class40 IBSA third in the first stage of the Défi Atlantique

Alberto Bona, on board the Class40 IBSA together with Pablo Santurde del Arco and Pietro Luciani, crossed the finish line in Horta (Azores) at 22:48 (GMT +1) on Tuesday, April 11, concluding the first stage of the Défi Atlantique in 10 days, 5 hours, 48 ​​minutes and 1 second. IBSA’s team ended the first part of the race in third position, behind the crews of Crédit Mutuel and Alla Grande Pirelli, led by Ian Lipinski and Ambrogio Beccaria, respectively.

“Congratulations to Ian and the Crédit Mutuel team for the stage win and to Ambrogio for his second place”, stated Alberto Bona upon arrival. “We concluded in third position a race that we animated from the very beginning and which we led for half the time. We knew it was going to be difficult, especially due to weather management. Now we need the “4 Rs”: rest, some repairs, mental reset and physical recovery. The Azores is a wonderful place, and it’s good to be here. We have to focus on the strategy for the 1,300 miles still ahead of us: we must do everything we can and play it to the end during the second stage”.

In this first stage – where the Class40 IBSA has always been in the leading group – a regatta within the regatta began immediately after the start: it was a match race between Alberto’s team and that of his friend-rival Ambrogio Beccaria. “I’m happy”, concluded Alberto. “We experienced many different conditions, we had the boat run in strong winds, the crew did their job very well: crossing in this direction is nice, very dynamic”. 

After a four-day break, Bona and the team will set off again on April 16 to La Rochelle (France) for the second part of the regatta. The time to close the gap and return to the lead of the race will be 5 hours and 37 minutes. Indeed, the winner of the Défi Atlantique will be the crew who achieve the best total time, after adding up the partial ones of the two stages.