Giovanni Soldini and Maserati Multi 70’s Team crossed the starting line today, at 12.10 local time (10.10 UTC), from the Grand Harbour, overlooked by Valletta, Malta, for the 41st edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Race, organized by the Royal Malta Yacht Club. 50 boats entered the race, divided in 7 start groups: the first group took off at 11.00 local time (9.00 UTC), while the multihulls were the last to set sail.
With 12 knots of north-westerly wind, under a clear and sunny sky, Maserati Multi 70 crossed the starting line and cleared the first turning mark a few seconds after MOD 70, Mana. On their wake was the maxi trimaran Ultim’Emotion 2, followed by Primonial, Shockwave and Asia’. At 13.30 local time, around an hour after the start, the two MOD 70s have overtaken the fleet and are sailing head to head towards Capo Passero.
Maserati Multi 70 arrived in the Grand Harbour this morning, around 8.00 local time (6.00 UTC): to limit the risks of contagion of the virus, Soldini and his crew decided to stop in Sicily, in Marina di Ragusa, to avoid landing in Malta.
A few moments before the start, Soldini commented: «In the first leg, up to Capo Passero, we’re expecting to sail close-reached and beam-reached with 15 knots. From there, the wind should turn north and get lighter, but the models are discordant and the forecasts are variable. Our direct competitor, Mana’s Team, lead by Brian Thompson, is a formidable rival: it’s going to be a great challenge!»
Aboard the Italian trimaran, Giovanni Soldini is sailing with 7 sailors: Cédric Bader, Vittorio Bissaro, Lorenzo Bressani, John Elkann, Oliver Herrera Perez, Nico Malingri (instead of Pierre Laurent Boullais) and Matteo Soldini.
