(Photo - Andrea Francolini)

The opening two events of the 2010 Audi IRC Australian Championship race have proven that you don’t need to be a super maxi to be a serious contender for the national Championship title which is endorsed by Yachting Australia.

While it may have been the South Australian Division 1 grand prix yacht Secret Men’s Business 3.5 that led at the end of Round 1 (raced at Audi Victoria Week in January), two new smaller yachts have been waiting in the wings, and have now taken the lead in this Championship thanks to the pointscore table which is based on a handicap system.

Aspiring to be named the 2010 Audi IRC Australian Champion and to win a new luxury Audi vehicle - the major prize attached to the title - two brand new small yachts named Aroona and Canute are in a tight struggle at the top of the leaderboard following the two rounds at Audi Victoria Week and the weekend’s Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta (6 & 7 March).

The organisers of Ramsgate Week, sponsored by Vattenfall, are collaborating with Broadstairs Sailing Club to incorporate a dinghy sailing regatta into the 2010 programme. A six race dinghy series will take place on 21st and 22nd August.

The exciting addition will result in a fleet of over 200 boats - IRC, Cruiser and Dinghy - sailing off the coast between Ramsgate and Broadstairs on Saturday 21st August. Ramsgate Week IRC and Cruiser fleet will sail from 16th to 21st August.

With the new additions, competitors can now choose from the following:

IRC Coastal series: IRC Classes 1-3 series of three special and coastal races, 1 race per day from Monday to Wednesday (with the Wednesday race being round the Goodwin Sands). This is a warm up series to the main IRC Series and competitors will be treated to some of the most scenic waters with races taking in Botany Bay, the shingle beaches off Deal and the wildlife around the Goodwin Sands.

IRC International Regatta series: IRC Classes 1-3 series of seven races with three races on Thursday, two on Friday and two on Saturday. This series starts on Thursday and finishes on Saturday. 

The Italian sailing team Azzurra from the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, skippered by Francesco Bruni with Tommaso Chieffi calling tactics, today finished racing at the Omega Auckland Match Racing Regatta. The team completed two Round Robins with six wins but was unable to qualify in the top four who advanced to the Semifinals and Finals (Ben Ainslie, Torvar Mirsky, Adam Minoprio & Dean Barker).

Due to the extremely shifty and light conditions only two matches of RR2 flight 7 were completed today. At 12.30pm the Race Committee hoisted the AP flag and called off the remaining matches of the Round Robins. The top four teams from RR 1 & 2 enjoyed an hour of rest ashore, waiting for the new afternoon breeze to fill in before going out into the Semis and Finals.