TEAM NEWS: WRAPPING UP THE COMPETITION IN URLA!

Wing foiler : Francesco Cappuzzo, team rider GONG, in Racer FSP Pro, Pulse Race, and foil Ypra Race.

The Formula Wing European Championship in Urla brings together the best riders from across Europe for an intense water battle. The competition began with a major challenge for the GONG team as part of their equipment was stolen. Despite this setback, Bastien Escofet and Francesco Cappuzzo bounced back by winning several heats and climbing up the rankings over the past days.

Day 4 :

Bastien and Francesco qualified for the Gold fleet, racing 3 additional heats to determine the top 9. At the end of the day, Bastien was 6th and Francesco 8th.

Charlie didn’t qualify directly in the top 9 but secured her spot by winning the Golden Ticket race, allowing her to compete in the Medal Series.

Wing foiler : Charlotte Baruzzi, team rider GONG.

Day 5 :

Francesco starts from the bottom of the bracket with the goal of climbing all the way to the final, while Bastien secures a spot directly in the semi-final. Starting from the bottom means you have to finish in the top two of each race to keep moving forward, but it also helps you hit the course already warmed up. On the other hand, those with better rankings have fewer races but arrive on the water a bit colder, a double-edged sword.

Francesco delivers an impressive comeback, winning almost every race on his way to the final, where he finishes 3rd. It was a fierce battle to the end. Mathis Ghio secured 1st place straight away with two initial wins. After a shaky start to the competition, Francesco showed up when it counted most, trusting both his gear and his experience.

Bastien, starting from the semi-final, was consistent but couldn’t make it to the final, finishing 6th.

Wing foiler : Bastien Escofet, team rider GONG, in Racer FSP Pro, Pulse Race, and foil Ypra Race.

Charlie, having won the Golden Ticket the day before, won her first Medal Series race to reach the quarter-finals but did not progress further, finishing 7th.

Catch our team riders at the Défi Wing this week for more racing and passion.

Wing foiler : Kamil Manowiecki, Mathis Ghio, Francesco Cappuzzo

Francesco Cappuzzo: “ What a last day!
This week has been one of the toughest so far, struggling to find my speed, skills, and tactics, but on the final day, the magic happened. Everything came together, the wind finally showed up, and I was able to show what I’m made of.

I started from the repechage heat, and winning that gave me the boost I needed to push through quarters and semifinals all the way to the grand final.

The final was a tight battle with incredible comebacks, and I ended up in 3rd place. Considering the whole week, I’m really grateful for this result. It might seem like I didn’t deserve it, but I fought until the very end and never gave up, not even once. In the end, everything played out my way. I don’t rely on luck, especially after everything that happened before and during the event.

I’m very proud of this result. Now, straight into the next challenge at Defi Wing!

Huge thanks and congrats to Bastien, my teammate, for an incredible performance all week long. It’s a shame we didn’t share the final, but your time is coming soon, you’re seriously fast.
Big shoutout to Charlie for the epic comeback and that golden ticket win, you rocked it!

Also, massive congrats to the whole Italian Sailing Federation team for their amazing performances: Maddalena Spanu took the title and Erny Waterman claimed a well-deserved 4th place.

Last but not least, congrats to Mathis Ghio, you never cease to surprise us! On top once again, well deserved!

Thanks to Alesensini and the Italian Sailing Federation for the support, and GONG Galaxy for providing the best gear on the planet. “