Harm Müller-Spreer’s Platoon Aviation TP52 has won the Puerto Calero Lanzarote 52 Super Series Royal Cup with a race to spare, securing the German-flagged team’s fourth Royal Cup victory.
The result also moves Platoon into the lead in the overall 2026 52 Super Series standings, 11 points ahead of world champions Sled going into the season finale in Valencia in early October.
Brazil’s Crioula produced a strong final-day recovery to take a career-best second place, while Turkish-flagged Provezza completed the podium after losing second overall in the final race.
Platoon Returns to Winning Form
For Platoon Aviation, steered by owner Müller-Spreer, the Lanzarote victory is the team’s first regatta win since September 2024 in Valencia, when it also lifted the Royal Cup. After struggling at times for consistent speed and suffering penalties, technical problems and spinnaker failures, Platoon found its form in the shifty, breezy offshore conditions at Puerto Calero.
Müller-Spreer described the victory as particularly significant following the death of King Harald V, donor of the Royal Cup.
“Winning with a race to spare? It is a while since that has been achieved on the 52 SUPER SERIES,” Müller-Spreer said. “For me it feels good, very special on the day after the donor of the Cup passed away, King Harald.
“For me, it’s so good to see that we got the boat going right now after a long, long way. Right now, we are really competitive.”
He said numerous technical changes had helped restore Platoon’s performance. “I am very proud, a bit emotional, but we need to focus because right now, we are 11 points ahead in the whole season.”
Crioula Claims Dream Second
The battle behind Platoon went down to the final race, with Eduardo and Renato Plass’s Crioula edging Provezza by a single point for second overall.
The Brazilian team from Veleiros do Sul YC in Porto Alegre has a core crew which has sailed together for more than 15 years, led by three-time Olympian and tactician Samuel Albrecht.
Despite poor starts in both of Sunday’s races, Crioula found the favourable shifts and showed good speed aboard the Vrolijk-designed former Provezza. A fourth place in the final race was enough to secure second overall.
“Yes, finally a great result!” Renato Plass said. “After bad starts and bad days, we came from the back of the fleet. We never give up. That’s our thing. This is incredible.”
Provezza Slips to Third
Ergin Imre’s Provezza had to settle for third after penalties and a difficult final race cost the Turkish-flagged team its chance of taking second.
Navigator Nacho Postigo said the team had attempted to send Crioula towards what had been the less-favoured side of the course, only for the right to pay.
“It’s a shame, really, because we were well prepared,” Postigo said. “The penalties really cost us today.”
Despite the disappointment, Postigo praised the conditions across the two Lanzarote events, describing summer racing in the Canary Islands as “fantastic”.
Sled Lead Cut to 11 Points
Takashi Okura’s Sled finished fifth overall after a mixed regatta, reducing what had been a 17-point championship advantage before Lanzarote to an 11-point deficit behind Platoon. The 2026 world champions and winners of the season’s opening two regattas were also forced to recover from a technical failure on Friday when a broken forestay ram required replacement and overnight composite repairs to the bow.
Sled finished the Royal Cup with a second place in Sunday’s final race, but tactician Francesco Bruni acknowledged the team had fallen short of its usual level. “We lost a lot of points,” Bruni said. “But we are still a strong team, we are still in touch for a potential win of the season, so we will fight it out in Valencia.”
The 2026 52 SUPER SERIES will now be decided at the season finale in Valencia in early October, with Platoon Aviation carrying an 11-point advantage over Sled into the championship decider.
