Maciek Rutkowski takes the lead

26/09/2022

Day two always looked like it had the potential to produce some light wind racing and that’s exactly how things played out with winds of 6-12 knots throughout the day, which provided just over 6 hours of excellent foil racing. By the close of play 4 eliminations were able to be completed - meaning 1 discard has been achieved already - whilst Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) heads up the overnight rankings of the Men’s Slalom at the Mercedes-Benz Windsurf World Cup Sylt.

Maciek Rutkowski enjoyed a brilliant first day of racing to take the early initiative in the Men’s Slalom. The Pole looked blisteringly fast throughout and he used that speed to great effect as he notched up back-to-back bullets in Eliminations 2 and 3 to gain a stranglehold over the event. The 30-year-old barely put a foot wrong all day - recording a second place in the opener and 3rd in the last, which he currently discards, to hold a 3.3 point advantage over Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / Phantom Foils) at the top of the rankings.

Mortefon made the perfect start as he claimed the opening bullet of the event, however, after a dream start, the 2019 world champion was eliminated in the semifinals of Elimination 2 which saw him drop from first to fourth. The 33-year-old bounced back strongly in the last two races as he recorded a second and a fourth to climb into second place and is within striking distance of the top. Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) is just 0.3 of a point further back as things remain tight at the top. The Italian also missed out on one Winners’ Final, but was able to discard a 10th place finish in Elimination 3 to keep himself firmly in contention for the event title with counting results of two seconds and a third.

Having made a solid start to the racing with a 5th place - Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) - made a costly mistake in Elimination 2 to be eliminated in the quarterfinals after missing his boom on the rig flip of the second gybe. However, like Mortefon and Iachino, the Bonairean bounced back brilliantly - claiming third place in Elimination 3, before signing off the day in style as he clinched victory in Elimination 4 to climb from 8th to 4th. Vrieswijk stated that he’s aiming for a podium by the end of the event and he’s prominently placed at the end of the first days racing.
In the opening 3 eliminations - Mateus Isaac (Severne / Severne Sails) - didn’t finish outside the top 4, which left him occupying second place. However, the Brazilian couldn’t quite maintain that position at the close of play. Isaac was involved in an incredibly tight finish in the semifinal of Elimination 4, but just lost out to Maciek Rutkowski and Luuc Van Opzeeland (Severne / Severne Sails). Isaac would go on to win the b-final - securing 9th - which he currently discards to finish the day sat in 5th. Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foils) is the only other sailor alongside Rutkowski to boast a 100% qualifying record for the Winners’ Finals. The German was extremely consistent throughout recording 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th place finishes, which sees Kördel currently sitting in 6th place.
Johan Soe (FMX Racing / Point-7) produced one of the performances of the day as the 18-year-old raced with a maturity beyond his years. The young Dane has already recorded some eye-catching results - 9th at the Défi Wind earlier this year and 7th in Croatia, and proved that it wasn’t just a fluke again today by not finishing outside the top 13, whilst recording excellent 4th and 6th place finishes in Eliminations 2 and 3 respectively to deservedly earn his place in the top 10 - 7th. The top 10 is currently completed by Luuc Van Opzeeland, who bounced back from a disappointing first race with two fifth places and an 11th, Croatia’s Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) and Denmark’s Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde), who is just half a point ahead of Rytis Jasiunas (FMX Racing / Point-7) and Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone).
Monday looks set to see an exciting day of action, which is likely to see both the Freestyle and Wave fleets in action throughout the day. The forecast currently promises winds of 20-40 knots from the southwest accompanied by waves of up to 2.4 metres, so there should be another excellent day of sailing to come. A call will be made at 6:45am (GMT+2) tomorrow morning with regards as to whether to run Waves or Freestyle. A skippers’ meeting for either fleet will then be held at 7am with a first possible start at 7:15am. The Slalom fleet will have a skippers’ meeting at 10am.