Final preparations are underway in Newport for the TP52 World Championship, the third of five events in the twelfth season of the 2024 52 Super Series. The premiership title series will be tipped off on Tuesday. On Monday, the World Cup teams completed their final warm-up testing laps in the iconic US area. “Platoon Aviation” commander-in-chief Harm Müller-Spreer, his Italian supporter Vasco Vascotto, strategist Jordi Calafat and the crew together with Michael Müller from Kiel and the Austrian Gerd Habermüller also left.
52 Super League: Multiple world champions in the game
Ten teams from seven countries compete in the monohull power game at the highest level. After the Thai Whitcraft family from Team Vayu won the XS 52 Super Newport Trophy in the same area three weeks ago, hopes of winning the World Championship ran through the entire fleet. Three teams have won the World Cup at least once, but none have emerged as the best so far this young season. Neither Doug DeVos’ Team Quantum Racing Powered by American Magic (USA) nor Harm Müller-Spreer’s “Platoon Aviation” nor Takashi Okura’s “Sled” can be assured of a podium finish.
We will definitely compete to defend our title” (Harm Müller-Spreer)
That doesn’t mean the three teams and the other teams from the 52 Super League won’t be going to the World Cup hungry for titles and medals. Three-time TP52 world champion Harm Müller-Spreer said without hesitation in an interview with YACHT online on Monday: “We will definitely compete to defend our title.” The team replaced the “Platoon Aviation” guide with a new one, which broke in a collision with an unknown underwater object (“UFO”) a few weeks ago off Newport, and made a few other changes to the new Botin design, which they kept for themselves for a while trying to keep.
Harm Müller-Spreer in Newport said: “I am very positive. We have a real fighting spirit in this platoon aviation team. We have been sailing together for so long that we know what it takes to win. And I firmly believe that we will win here. It took us a while to get to know the new boat. In Newport last month we really felt like we were there when we damaged the rudder. But here we are. We are fighters and confident. That is important in sport, including at this World Cup.”
New “Group Aviation” on the course for the World Cup
According to the Hamburg entrepreneur from the North German Betting Association, his team goes to every race to win it. He and his crew first had to get the new boat under control with the slightly bulkier bow. Harm Müller-Spreer said: “It’s completely different to the old boat. You have to get used to it first. You have to learn how to sail the boat. It needs to be optimized because even minimal differences in this war mean small differences.” For example, at eight or nine knots in the wind, the new “Platoon Aviation” is “a little more right and maybe a little more stable,” says Harm Müller-Spreer.
Tony Langley’s “Gladiator” is one of the teams in the 52 Super Series that is about to win a regatta – in this case the World Championship. The British-flagged team led by Argentinian skipper and three-time TP52 World Champion Guillermo Parada fell just two points short of victory in the XS 52 Championship in Newport last month.
At the moment we are winning the races, but we haven’t had a perfect week yet” (Guillermo Parada)
Parada is also convinced that his team needs to win the World Cup and he said with a smile: “Why not? We like the venue but we need to be a bit more consistent during the week. That’s what we’re still missing. Hopefully we can do this now at the right time. How big this opportunity is depends on how well we do our job. I think Team Vayu has proven to all of us that the fleet is so close together now that most of us will have a good chance of winning an event in a good week. We need to focus on being consistent. We’ve won races at the moment, but we haven’t had a great week yet. We have to eliminate the avoidable errors.”
Hasso and Tina Plattner with “Phoenix” in Newport
The multiple winners from the New York Yacht Club, on the other hand, came to the first Newport regatta in their home area. Doug DeVos’ US team Quantum Racing powered by American Magic went down at the wrong moment. After leading all week and needing only a solid final day to win the regatta, the favorites struggled in the last two races. Not only did they concede 19 points, but they also surrendered the trophy they already had in hand.
Still, the Americans remain a formidable force in the 52 Super Series. They have won more pots and medals than any other team in the 52 Super League. Since Lanzarote won their first world title out of Lanzarote in 2008, sailor Doug DeVos has won six more, most recently in Cascais in 2022. “We found that we had a very difficult time in the last two regattas on the last day . As youngsters, we probably tried too hard to be perfect in the excitement of winning. We have reviewed that and it will be more controlled. As we are back in this privileged position, we will of course adhere to the procedures that work,” said skipper and tactician Victor Diaz de Leon.
Many participants and observers considered the first gig from Newport a success. The racing area chosen by the 52 Super Series is new to the fleet and was very open, with many different elements to incorporate into strategic play. Last but not least, these include the currents and pressure changes when the wind changes into the sea breeze. Tina Plattner also tested the conditions on Monday in the practice races driving the “Phoenix”. Hasso and Tina Plattner are in action at the World Championships with their team led by three-time TP52 world champion Ed Baird. The title streak ends on July 20.
470 member Luise Wanser is a co-commentator
For the first time ever, 470cc world champion Luise Wanser will be working as a co-commentator in the World Championship this week in Newport. As an observer and live reporter, the 27-year-old from the North German Betting Association will be on the water alongside well-known chief commentator Andi Robertson and will report directly from the course events.
Look back at the