The Italian J/70 Cup 2026 returned to the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda to host the J/70 Italian Championship.
Day 1: After three races on opening day, J-CURVE—owned by YC Costa Smeralda member Mauro Roversi—led the provisional standings. Massimo Rama’s CAIM# JENIALE followed just one point behind, while Steven Proud’s Australian team on SWISH sat in third place. The starting signal for the first race was given at 1300 hrs, as scheduled. The opening race was followed by two additional windward-leeward races on a course set off Capo Ferro, in the waters facing Isola delle Bisce. The fleet raced in a Scirocco wind ranging from 10 to 13 knots. In the first race, the Corinthian crew of CAIM# JENIALE staged an impressive comeback, despite an unfavorable start. They climbed through the fleet to round the second windward mark in the lead, held that position to the finish line, and secured the win. HOLD-FAST, another competing Corinthian crew, finished right behind them. J-CURVE, which finished third in the opening race, bounced back in the second race. The team set the pace from the very beginning and crossed the finish line with a comfortable margin over the chasing pack. Behind them, a battle raged down to the final meter, with the Australian SWISH and CAIM# JENIALE neck-and-neck at the finish, ultimately placing second and third, respectively. In the day’s final race, the fleet once again favored the left side of the race course. Sinead Byrne’s Irish team ONE MORE TIME took the win, followed by Yann Inghilesi’s CICLONE and J-CURVE. With one win and two third-place finishes, J-CURVE ended the first day at the top of the provisional standings. CAIM# JENIALE followed just one point behind, while SWISH held third place.
Day 2: The second day of racing offered ideal conditions to complete three more races. With one day remaining in the event, J-CURVE retained the lead in the provisional standings, followed by CAIM# JENIALE, which remained firmly in second place. Meanwhile, CICLONE moved up to third place. The start signal for the first race was originally scheduled for 1130 hrs, but light winds delayed the start of racing. The Race Committee issued the warning signal at 1300 hrs, and following the first race, the fleet completed two additional windward-leeward races in steady easterly winds of around 10 knots. With six races now completed, the discard rule—allowing the worst result to be dropped—came into play. Two more races were scheduled for the final day, bringing the program’s total to eight. Andrei Pushkin’s TENZOR TEAM from the United Arab Emirates won the day’s first race, leading the fleet from the first windward mark to the finish line, followed by Proud’s SWISH and Rama’s CAIM# JENIALE. After finishing fourth in the day’s opening race, J-CURVE bounced back with two consecutive victories in the subsequent races. Roversi’s crew staged an impressive comeback in the fifth race, fighting their way up from the back of the pack to take first place at the finish. It was also a successful day for CAIM# JENIALE, which secured two second-place finishes in the day’s remaining races, beating out ONE MORE TIME and ANEMOLOGY, respectively. At the end of the day, Roversi’s J-CURVE held the top spot in the standings with a two-point lead over CAIM# JENIALE. Heading into the final day, the title battle remained wide open. The contest for the third spot on the podium was still undecided, with CICLONE and ONE MORE TIME tied on points.
Day 3: After three days of racing, the J/70 Italian Championship—which also served as a stage of the Italian J/70 Cup—concluded. Thanks to consistent results throughout the event, YC Costa Smeralda member Mauro Roversi secured victory with his J-CURVE team in both the Italian J/70 Cup and the J/70 Italian Championship. Massimo Rama’s CAIM# JENIALE finished second overall and won the Corinthian classification. CICLONE, helmed by Yann Inghilesi, rounded out the podium. The final two races proved decisive, with the fleet putting on a spectacular display of planing off Porto Cervo. The Australian team SWISH won the first race, with CICLONE and J-CURVE finishing second and third, respectively. CAIM# JENIALE finished eighth but bounced back with a victory in the final race, tying J-CURVE at 16 pts net. The overall winner was ultimately decided by the countback tiebreaker rule based on best race results, which favored J-CURVE.
Mauro Roversi’s J-CURVE crew (Stefano Cherin, Giulia Conti, Diego Larcher and Filippo Amonti) thus secured the Italian J/70 Championship title and victory in the J/70 Cup for the first time. Massimo Rama’s CAIM# JENIALE Team (Filippo Vulcanile, Matteo Ferretti, Matte Capurro and Francesca di Gangi) finished second overall and first in the Corinthian division. Yannick Inghilesi’s CICLONE team (Francesco Gabbi, Niccolo Bianchi and Carlo Fracassoli) won the battle for third on the podium, posting a strong day with a second- and a third-place finish. The top five also included Australia’s Steven Proud on SWISH in fourth place and the United Arab Emirates TENZOR TEAM, skippered by Andrei Pushkin, in fifth. “Winning the Italian title for the first time— in the waters of Porto Cervo, against a highly competitive fleet and in typical Costa Smeralda conditions— is a source of great pride for me. The event was hard-fought throughout, culminating in a unique finish with two boats tied on points. We were fortunate to come out on top on the tie-breaker, and I congratulate Massimo Rama’s team—brilliant rivals who challenged us every step of the way. I also want to thank my crew for their hard work, not just here at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, but throughout the entire season,” commented Mauro Roversi.
CORINTHIAN Division: Rama’s CAIM# JENIALE team won the Corinthian Division with 16 pts net. Second was Guglielmo Frangi’s HOLD-FAST crew with 53 pts net, and third place went to the Germans on Justuss Reinke’s HALBTROCKEN SAILING with 68 pts net.
Italian J/70 Cup 2026 Series: The entire season series over the four events (Scarlino, Lerici, Torbole & Porto Cervo) had 28 races counting, with five discards.
1. Mauro Roversi’s J-CURVE- 77 pts net
2. Massimo Rama’s CAIM# JENIALE Team- 146 pts net
3. Manfredo Toninelli’s T-ONE- 155 pts net
4. Gianfranco Noe’s WHITEHAWK- 193 pts net
5. Matteo Marenghi Vaselli’s G-SPOT- 209 pts net
Italian J/70 Cup Corinthian 2026 Series
1. Massimo Rama’s CAIM# JENIALE Team- 146 pts net
2. William Twomey’s WILDCARD (Ireland)- 229 pts net
3. Denis Infante’s EUROVOILES (France)- 272 pts net
During the prize-giving ceremony, the Tenzor Sailing Club presented awards: discount vouchers for the Tenzor International Cup, held during the winter in Bodrum, Turkey, in the eastern Mediterranean. The recipients were J-CURVE, CAIM# JENIALE, and CICLONE. The J/70 Italian Class, which uses the VAKAROS RaceSense system to manage starts, is supported by Lincoln International, Garmin, VelaMania, North Sails Collection, UtilGraph, Gottifredi Maffioli, and Gin Vento. For more Italian J/70 Class information, visit https://www.j70.it.
