SUPERNIKKA wins the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup… again

In early September, the Vismara V62 Mills RC ‘SUPERNIKKA’ finished the 2017 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo with a commanding overall victory in the hotly contested Mini Maxi RC 1 class. Racing against yachts such as the Wally 60 ‘WALLINO’ and the Swan 601 ‘WOHPE’, the Vismara Marine-built and Mark Mills designed yacht from Yacht Club Repubblica Marinara in Pisa finished within the top two in all five races.

SUPERNIKKA’s owner, the 49yr old Pisan entrepreneur and MD of the Italian pharmaceutical company Pharmanutra Roberto Lacorte put together an all-star crew including tactician and former America’s Cup sailor Tommaso Chieffi, Olympian Diego Cayolla, Henry Zain, and Andrew Feit, to retain the title he won in SUPERNIKA’s debut season in 2015, just months after she hit the water for the first time.

The regatta, hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, is arguably the most important international regatta for the Maxi class yachts, and this year the event coincided with the 50th anniversary of the prestigious club, founded in 1967 by the Aga Khan and now with Riccardo Bonadeo as Commodore.

“SUPERNIKKA’s success is down to a real crew who deserve a 10 out of 10 with praise for what they have achieved over the past few days,” Roberto Lacorte’s first words as he reached the dock on the final day. “The most beautiful thing this week is that I was able to count on a crew of true professionals, both technically and humanly, who have thoroughly understood my goals and did their best to reach them. SUPERNIKKA’s victory in this regattas has been the team’s top priority, and it’s a double satisfaction, as this regatta was a very important year for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. I’m also very happy at the personal level, “concludes the Tuscan yacht owner who also holds the role of Vice-President of the International Maxi Association (IMA). “In June, with Cetilar Villorba Corse, we achieved a very important result at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which ended in ninth place, seventh in class, dividing the lead of our Dallara P217 with Giorgio Sernagiotto and Andrea Belicchi: now this victory has also come, 2017 has been a very satisfying year!”.

“Winning here at Porto Cervo was not easy, because our opponents were all very good,” adds the famous tactician Tommaso Chieffi. “To win this trophy is always a particular emotion, even for those who like me have already had the chance to win the Maxi races several times: there is so much joy and there is as much satisfaction as you have really done a great job”.

Also racing in the regatta within the same class was the Vismara V62 ‘YORU’, a sistership and development of ‘SUPERNIKKA’, launched in the summer of 2016.

Further information on the new Vismara V62 and the other semi & full custom yachts from the Vismara Shipyard can be found here or contact us at vismara@grabauinternational.com