The 52 Super Series 2025 finale at Porto Cervo entered its penultimate day in a sharply different mood from what had preceded it. After days of punishing Mistral conditions, the wind finally relented, leaving the 13-boat fleet to coax their TP52s around a shifty course in light airs. The reduced breeze allowed just one race before the wind gave out entirely, yet that single contest produced a result worth waiting for.
Thailand's Vayu, guided by the Whitcraft family, read the patchy pressure lines inside the straits better than anyone and converted that positioning into the boat's first race victory of the season. It was a composed, patient performance that rewarded the kind of tactical discipline light-wind racing demands.
Provezza followed them home in second, continuing a run of form that has raised eyebrows across the fleet. The Turkish-flagged team, who arrived in Porto Cervo with a 2025 campaign that had delivered little to match their pre-season hopes, has now strung together back-to-back podium results. New strategist Santi Lange, working alongside Cole Parada, had the fleet covered early but found the boat squeezed back on the final beat. Two consecutive top-two finishes suggest something has clicked for the team.
For Takashi Okura's Sled, sixth place was enough to preserve their commanding position at the head of the Porto Cervo scoreboard. One day of racing remains, and Sled carries a six-point buffer over Tina and Hasso Plattner's Phoenix heading into it.
To understand how Sled arrived at that position, it helps to look back at the four days that shaped the week.
When racing opened on Tuesday, Okura's crew, composed largely of New Zealand sailors and guided by tactician Francesco Bruni and strategist Murray Jones, posted a fourth and a second to take an immediate grip on the leaderboard. They were measured and efficient where others were not. Platoon Aviation won the opening race of the regatta, then collided with Gladiator at the start of Race 2, forcing them ashore for emergency repairs. Their bowman was left bruised, their stern was damaged, and their overall challenge was instantly compromised.
The most striking story from day one belonged to Alpha+. The Hong Kong-flagged entry, helmed by Kiwi Nick Egnot-Johnson, finished dead last in Race 1 before completely reversing their fortunes to win Race 2. For a crew who had only recently recorded their first ever Super Series podium in Puerto Portals, it confirmed that their rise is genuine.
Wednesday brought the Mistral back with authority, gusting close to 30 knots and turning the race course into a test of boat handling and nerve. Sled thrived in it, starting well and converting second place at the first mark into a race win. Kiwi mainsheet trimmer Don Cowie captured the mood of the day: "It was a great day for Sled. Lots of fun, pure Porto Cervo. We reached 21.5 knots downwind. At the start of the day we agreed that we had to be careful — to finish first, first you have to finish."
American Magic steadied their campaign after a difficult opening day, sailing a smart first run to claim second behind Sled. Platoon, still recovering from Tuesday's collision, compounded their troubles with a botched spinnaker drop at the leeward mark that sent them sliding back through the fleet.
Thursday was the day the regatta truly took shape. The easing Mistral allowed the race committee to complete three races, each with its own distinct story. Paprec opened proceedings with a controlled win, showing real downwind pace. Phoenix, with Tom Slingsby and Will Ryan calling the shots, claimed Race 5, holding their nerve under pressure. Sled then won Race 6, exploiting an upwind speed advantage to extend their lead over the fleet.
Their day had not been without incident. A port-starboard clash with Provezza in the first race of Thursday cost Sled a penalty and dropped them to 11th. The recovery that followed, a second and then a first, said much about the team's resilience.
Phoenix were the highest-scoring boat across Thursday's three races and climbed to second overall. Will Ryan reflected on what had been a demanding day: "Any day with three races in this fleet is tough. The mental drain is real. For everyone else it felt like a battle all the way through, but the chips kind of fell our way."
American Magic continued to slip in the Porto Cervo standings, though their position across the full season remains commanding. Doug DeVos acknowledged the drift plainly: "Yes, our lead is shrinking. We kept missing things. Tomorrow we need to focus on what's ahead and not what's behind."
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The Porto Cervo leaderboard tells one story; the 2025 season title picture tells another. American Magic Quantum Racing, winners of three of the four preceding regattas, hold a 21-point advantage over Sled across the full circuit. If that margin holds, they will claim their seventh overall Super Series crown, adding to championships in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2024.
The more closely contested fight heading into the final day is the battle for third on the season standings. Paprec currently occupy that position on 238.5 points, but Italy's Alkedo Vitamina sit just behind on 246, with Germany's Platoon Aviation a further 1.5 points back on 247.5. The margins are tight enough that a single poor race, or a single good one, could reshuffle the order entirely.
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For New Zealand followers of the circuit, Porto Cervo has offered no shortage of storylines. Sled, with Don Cowie and Murray Jones central to their campaign, are pushing for both the regatta win and a late-season statement on the overall standings. Egnot-Johnson's Alpha+ added another top-five result on Friday, building on the dramatic Race 2 win that announced them on day one.
The Kiwi presence across this fleet is considerable. Experienced America's Cup campaigners are driving consistency at the front of the fleet, while younger talents like Egnot-Johnson are pushing newer programmes into conversations they would not have been part of a year ago.
The final day of the 52 Super Series 2025 season now stands between the fleet and the record books. Race officers are targeting up to three races, conditions permitting. Sled will be aiming to convert their Porto Cervo lead into a regatta win. American Magic need only to avoid catastrophe to complete a season title that has been building all year. For Paprec, Alkedo Vitamina and Platoon Aviation, the narrow margins separating them on the season table mean every start carries outsized consequence.
Phoenix arrive at the final day having already shown what Slingsby's involvement can do for a campaign. Their 2022 season title is a relevant reference point rather than a distant memory, and whatever their final result in Sardinia, the trajectory of their week points somewhere interesting.
Costa Smeralda has set the stage. The last act is still to come.
