Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/878567
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 2017 49 Sport MOTO GP SAILING Viñales wins pole at Aragon Rolex Middle Sea Race: One month to go M AV ERICK Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) has taken pole position for the Gran Pre- mio Movistar de Aragon, exact- ly a tenth of a second ahead of Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) at the front as compatriot and key title rival Marc Marquez (Rep- sol Honda Team) tumbled out of contention. There was more headline news as Valentino Ros- si (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) added another chapter to his incredible comeback, qualif ying on the front row in third after missing only one event follow- ing his leg injury. Under blue and sunny skies at the stunning MotorLand Aragon, FP3 had seen a shootout for Q2 entry that lit up the timesheets, and Jorge Lorenzo was the high profile name left to head through Q1. But the five- time World Champion easily moved through, subsequently qualif ying on the front row. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) was the man to lose out late on as he was pushed down to fourth, but the two-time GP winner re- mains top Independent Team rider. Reigning Champion Marc Marquez, despite his crash – rider ok – will start in the mid- dle of the second row, which is completed by teammate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team). Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) had a solid session to take seventh and will be looking to move forward and track Cham- pionship rival Marquez, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) impressing in P8 at the venue where he took his first premier class podium. Al- varo Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) lines up ninth despite a crash, with Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) taking P10. Johann Zarco (Monster Yama- ha Tech 3) was eleventh quickest after moving through Q1, with Mika Kallio (Red Bull KTM Fac- tory Racing) lining up in P12 as he wildcards and impresses once again. Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) missed out on Q2 by only thousandths and starts P13, with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Ka- rel Abraham (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) locking out the fastest fifteen for the grid. Now it's time to race, with equal points at the top between Marquez and Dovizioso – both of whom start off the front row – Rossi fighting through the pain barrier, and Viñales ready to strike from pole. WITH a month to go, the 2017 Rolex Middle Sea Race entry list continues to build steadily. Cur- rently numbering 90 yachts from 27 countries and with entries not due to close until 6 October, the Royal Malta Yacht Club is confi- dent of welcoming another im- pressive f leet to the island state of Malta. As diverse in the size and type of competing yacht as it is in the nations represented, the 38th edition of the race prom- ises, as always, an eye-watering spectacle. Unsurprisingly, given the history of the race and the country's geo- graphical proximity, Italy provides the largest contingent of competi- tors with 17 entries. Three of the past five races have been won by Italian yachts and, while defend- ing champion Mascalzone Latino will not be in attendance this year, there is another Italian Cookson 50 in the shape of Endlessgame in the 2017 roster. With Mascalzone finishing sec- ond and first overall in the past two editions, one might be for- given for thinking any Cookson 50 entered this year has a better than even chance of winning, es- pecially if the weather is favour - able. Endlessgame even comes with pedigree as the former Cip- pa Lippa, second overall in 2016 and winner of the ORC category. Armed with a new crew, the yacht has proved its continuing capabil- ity by bettering Mascalzone dur- ing the offshore race of the 2017 Giraglia Rolex Cup. That said, Endlessgame's owner Pietro Moschini is taking noth- ing for granted. Despite a great result at the Giraglia, he believes they have a long way to go to get the best out of the yacht. He also points out that this will be his first attempt at the Rolex Middle Sea Race, something he is looking for- ward to: "First of all to experience and enjoy the longest offshore sailing race of the Mediterranean, and one of the most prestigious and spectacular in the world." In terms of ambition, Moschini is realistic: "We want to sail at our best to have no regrets at the end of the race regardless of our re- sult. 2017 has been our very first season, we want to close it with a good performance that will allow us to treasure the experiences and focus on the next season. In some ways, it is hard to say whether the Rolex Middle Sea Race is the last race of our 2017 season or rather the prelude to the 2018 season!" Elsewhere, UK and Russia both provide 14 entries. Alex Thom- son's Hugo Boss will undoubtedly be one the highest profile in the double-handed category, while Quentin Stewart's DSS equipped 46-footer, Maverick, returning for a second year in a row, will be hoping for conditions conducive to a fast blast around Sicily and to improve on last year's third place overall. The burgeoning Russian contin- gent is confirmation of the ever- growing popularity of the Rolex Middle Sea Race among eastern European countries, which this year count entries from Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, Ser- bia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Ukraine. Many are return- ing yachts, a number of which demonstrate that this segment is not just making up the numbers. Sergey Bryuzga and Frogfoot fin- ished third in class in 2016, with Vasiliy Shumarin and Belka 2 just one place behind. Igor Rytov and Bogatyr, meanwhile, took second place on their class podium along with an excellent overall result of 15th in the IRC fleet of 95 yachts. Local representation, so far this year, comes from the Maltese yachts: Isomat Unica, skippered by Jamie Sammut, who is sailing with a full crew having won the double-handed category last year; Elusive 2, sailed by the Podesta siblings Maya, Aaron and Cris- toph; Otra Vez, with Sean Arrigo and Brian Flahive racing double- handed; and, Sean Borg's Xpresso. With just over two weeks to the close of entries, there is every pos- sibility that the Rolex Middle Sea Race will post over 100 entries for the fourth year in succession and perhaps even break the ceiling of 30 nations. The Rolex Middle Sea Race starts from Grand Harbour on Saturday, 21st October 2017 and the final Prize Giving ceremony will be held on Saturday, 28th Oc- tober 2017. Follow the latest news and sto- ries on the Rolex Middle Sea Race social media accounts, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The offi- cial race hashtags are #RMSR2017 #RolexMiddleSeaRace Registrations close on Friday 6th October and crews are encour- aged to submit their registrations at the earliest opportunity. For further information about the race please visit www.rolexmid- dlesearace.com or contact the Royal Malta Yacht Club via email: info@rmyc.org or by phone: +356 2133 3109. Movistar Yamahas split by Lorenzo at MotorLand after the reigning Champion slides out of contention for pole Maverick Viñales in action at the Gran Premio Movistar de Aragon, Spain