Paprec are setting a ruthless pace at Marina Rubicón Lanzarote, extending their lead to two clear points after four races in conditions that have been testing every team in the 13-boat fleet.
With winds topping 25 knots at times and big shifts hammering the top of the course, Jean-Luc Petithuguenin's French crew took a race win and a fourth to sit on eight points, two ahead of newly crowned World Champions Sled on ten.
Paprec's first race was as much about capitalising on others' misfortune as their own pace. Provezza had rounded the top mark first and pulled away under spinnaker, then lost their kite, handing the lead to the French who stretched it to over 400 metres by the finish. In the second race, a mistimed approach left Paprec shooting the buoy at the start while Platoon Aviation got away cleanly from the pin end. Platoon looked dangerous until their kite exploded again, opening the door for Sled to take over and convert for their second race win of the regatta.
Sled's day wasn't without trouble. The Americans trawled a spinnaker approaching the leeward gate and could only manage sixth, their first real problem of the event.
The Hong Kong entry Alpha Plus was the top scorer on the day. Shawn and Tina Kang's crew banked a pair of second places to consolidate third overall on 15 points, five ahead of Andrea Lacorte's Alkedo Vitamina, which was over the start line in the second race but battled back to a remarkable third position.
Project manager and mainsail trimmer Stephane Névé spoke afterwards. "It's a great day for the team," he said. "We had a fantastic first race, not fantastic start, but we had a good speed and the tactician and the navigator they did a fantastic job upwind. We were a bit lucky also because our competitor, had some kite problem, so that opened the door to a victory on the first race. Second race, it was quite difficult. We had not such a good start and we were really close to the pin, and we were close to the Platoon. It was a bit difficult. We had to fight with many boats. But again, a good speed downwind, so we managed to fight back and finally finish fourth." On leading the regatta at the halfway point, he kept it measured: "When you are leading, you don't need to gybe too much. We need to minimise the risk all the time."
Alpha Plus navigator Ian Moore was equally candid. "It is a tough, tough day out there. But it's a good day, really tricky. It's very, very shifty, especially the top of course. Lumpy and with a lot of current and it's breezy." He noted the attrition running through the fleet: "There is a lot of gear failure, and we're just trying to do our best to make sure that's not us, but it can happen to anybody. But really a lot of stuff happening at the top of the course, you have just got to stay calm."
Tony Langley's Gladiator missed both races after damaging their forestay. The regatta reaches its midpoint on Thursday, which also marks the theoretical halfway point of the 2026 season.
Leaderboard, Marina Rubicón Lanzarote 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week after four races:
1. Paprec (FRA), Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, 2+1+1+4 = 8 2. Sled, Takashi Okura, 1+2+6+1 = 10 3. Alpha + (HKG), Shawn & Tina Kang, 3+8+2+2 = 15 4. Alkedo Vitamina (ITA), Andrea Lacorte, 7+3+3+3 = 16 5. No Way Back (NED), Pieter Heerema, 5+7+5+9 = 26 6. Platoon Aviation (GER), Harm Müller-Spreer, 6+5+9+6 = 26 7. Alegre (GBR), Andy Soriano, 4+9+8+10 = 31 8. Vayu (THA), Whitcraft Family, 9+6+11+5 = 31 9. Provezza (TUR), Ergin Imre, 11+12+4+7 = 34 10. Trinity Racing (SWE), Joakim Sundberg, 12+4+10+8 = 34 11. Crioula (BRA), Eduardo & Renato Plass, 14(DNS)+11+7+11 = 43 12. Teasing Machine (FRA), Eric de Turckheim, 10+10+14(DNF)+12 = 46 13. Gladiator (GBR), Tony Langley, 8+13+14(DNS)+14(DNS) = 49
