© Laura G.Guerra/Copa del Rey MAPFRE
The Real Club Náutico de Palma hosted the official presentation of the 35 Copa del Rey MAPFRE on Friday. The competition returns this year on the bay of Palma de Mallorca from July 31st to August 6th with 1,500 sailors, 130 boats and 22 countries
Palma de Mallorca – The presentation ceremony was held in the club’s Sala Magna. Among those present were Javier Sanz, president of the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP); Ricardo Garzó, Regional Director of MAPFRE in Baleares; Susana Moll, Deputy Mayor of Education and Sports of Palma City Council; Pilar Carbonell, General Director of Tourism of the Balearic Islands Government, and Carles Gonyalons, General Director of Sports and Youth of the Balearic Islands Government among other representatives of partner companies, competitors and media.
Javier Sanz was in charge of opening the event, thanking MAPFRE as well as the other sponsors and partners for their involvement with the event, and in the words of the president of the RCNP, “without them it would be impossible to organize this event. In addition to their economic contribution I must emphasize their involvement in the project and especially with our people. I want to thank as well the institutional support of the Palma City Council, the Balearic Government, the Balearic Islands Port Authority and the Balearic Sailing Federation”, declared Sanz, who added: “this year BMW has consolidated as the official car of the regatta and it is an honour for all of us to have the cooperation and support of this brand. As well Gaastra is well established its long history of sponsorship of this race and we are very proud of their cooperation and support. Finally I want to thank the rest of the event partners. Without them it would be impossible to tackle this 35th edition of the Copa del Rey MAPFRE”.
This latest edition of the Copa del Rey MAPFRE will welcome 1,500 sailors and 130 boats from 22 different nationalities and they will dock out Monday to fight for the title in one of the most eagerly awaited events of the season. This year the regatta is hosting the GC32 class for the first time. The 32 foot foiling catamarans will deliver an incredible show in the bay of Palma. They form, in the opinion of Javier Sanz “the most prestigious fleet of yachts in the Mediterranean. We are proud to have the best boats and sailors in the world, whose passion contributes to the prestige of our yacht club”.
Meanwhile Ricardo Garzó, Regional Director of MAPFRE, said that “The Copa del Rey MAPFRE places the Balearic Islands, the city of Palma and especially its bay as the worldwide centre of nautical sports throughout this week. In MAPFRE we bet decisively for sports and especially for sailing, and we will continue to give our name to the Copa del Rey in future editions. From MAPFRE we caught the thrill that both the RCNP organization and the other sponsors transmit, encouraging everyone to enjoy these sports and social events”.
Representing the Balearic Islands Government, Carles Gonyalons wanted to emphasize that “From the General Direction we bet for sailing, also through the support to the federation and also by future of sailing through programs of modernization of the Fundación por el Deporte Balear (Foundation for the Balearic sport). We would like to congratulate the sponsors for making this event possible and of course to the organizers for improving even more this event every year”.
Susana Moll, Deputy Mayor of Education and Sports of Palma City Council closed the event highlighting that the race “is synonymous with prestige, it bears the name of our city around the world and is an event of extraordinary impact. Like last year, from the Palma City Council we wanted to give a social character to our contribution and from the beginning the RCNP shared this sensibility: we’ve always had a yes for an answer and we want to thank you for that. Another year, a group of children at risk of social exclusion will be able to live this experience and also follow the race from the sea with their instructors, which will be for them an unforgettable day as I noted during the last edition. ”
Tomorrow, the official start
The racing program of the 35 Copa del Rey MAPFRE has six days of racing scheduled in four race courses on the bay of Palma. The official program will begin on Saturday with the registration confirmation, which will run throughout the weekend. Monday August 1st will be the first day of official racing which will start at 13h00 for the classes Singular Kitchen IRC 1, Montblanc Maxi 72, BMW ORC 1, BMW ORC2, Air Europa X-35, Herbalife J80 and MRW Swan 45.
On Wednesday the spectacular GC32 will debut to complete a fleet of 130 boats from 22 countries that will fight for the final title. The competition will last until next Saturday August 6th, when the identity of the winners of the 35 Copa del Rey MAPFRE will be revealed.
Once again the action in the water will be complemented by a strong social agenda on shore, another of the event identity signs that continues to be a reference in the Mediterranean racing season.
