MONACO, March 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A race that is also a testbed for trying out new boats. It is the 40th Primo Cup-Trophée UBS taking place at the Yacht Club de Monaco. Innovation is at the centre of the regatta which has established itself as a major European one design gathering in the Mediterranean. This year sees a preview of a new one design class: the Junda KII, an initiative of YCM member Ludovico Fassitelli, winner of the Primo Cup 2019. Conceived in Monaco, this one design aims to modernise the rules of competition, putting the emphasis on technology and accessibility. This initiative is part of the Monaco Capital of Advanced Yachting approach, which was also welcomed by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, who came to greet the 400 competitors of the 40^th Primo Cup-Trophée UBS at the opening cocktail party.

“The idea for this boat comes from my last seven years in racing in one-design classes. During this period I thought of the parts that could be improved in this formula and I identified in the crew, one of the main element that could be changed from an owner point of view. Managing five people almost becomes a business, is like a small company and you have to take on costs that end up to be quite high. So I thought to design a boat just for two people that can manage it easily, reducing the costs and solving the problem to manage the crew”, says Ludovico Fassitelli founder and ceo of Junda. Technology is at the core of this new one design class: “On board, we have an instrument that makes a Gps network between all the boats at the start in line for the jury to see immediately which are the boat that started at the right time and which are the ones that didn’t. This way we avoid all problems related to the so called ‘general recall’, which happens when too many boats start too early and the jury has to repeat all the procedures which is a loss of time”. The plan for Junda KII is to start delivering the first production at the beginning of the summer to be ready to race here at the Monaco SportsBoat Winter Series 2024, then the Primo Cup in 2025 to continue with the national championship in the nations where there’ll be a fleet.

Making its debut in its first one design championship, with an owner-driver rule, it’s the Cape 31. “It’s the first race in Monaco with Cape 31 and there are 5 boats in this event. It is long 10 meters and it weights around 1.800 kilos. There are 7 people on the boat and among them there are only 3 professionals. It’s very interesting for everybody because you have contact with everybody all the time. You’re not the first and winner all the time because everything changes pretty quickly according to the wind. Today we had a very good condition in Monaco with wind and waves”, explains Loic Pompee. Conceptualised by Lord Irvine Laidlaw, designed by Mark Mills and built in Cape Town South Africa, the Cape 31 is optimized for both upwind and offwind performance in big breeze while maintaining capabilities in lighter air. From the southern tip of Africa, launched in 2017, it has since reached all corners of the world with boats in the US, UK and Australia. 

For more information:
Press Office LaPresse - ufficio.stampa@lapresse.it

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