With a fourth consecutive win, by just two seconds over Claus-Peter Offen’s Y2K, Carlo Perrone posted a perfect score in Virtuelle to clinch the Cruiser Division prize of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup off Porto Cervo, Sardinia.

With France’s Olympic Gold medallist Thierry Peponnet at the helm, the silver 80-footer, with the hull designed by Andrea, blitzed the opposition on a day when the race committee made a good call by postponing the starts for three quarters of an hour.

That allowed the light, 5 to 7-knot easterly breeze to strengthen during the afternoon to over 11 knots to drive the 25 yachts around a 29-mile course. But there was plenty of opportunity to make tactical mistakes, especially as the wind shifted up to 40 degrees in direction.

In the IMS maxi division, Ernesto Gismondi’s 65-foot Edimetra was again first, by 20 seconds. But he has only a two-point lead over the locally-based Rrose Selavy, owned by Riccardo Bonadeo, who was third. And moving up to third overall is Alberto Roemmers’ Alexia, who had her best result of the week when she was second.

Also making it four out of four was winner of the race to cross the line first between the two 88-foot Wallys, Thomas Bscher’s Tiketikan and the founder of Wally yachts, Luca Bassani in Tiketitoo. Once again Tiketitan was able to outpace Tiketitoo upwind, despite the double canard underwater foil configuration being experimented with on Tiketitoo.

But neither is likely to win the overall Wally division as they have to give the 77-footers handicap time. That battle lies between Mattia Medici’s Askherout, third today and with a one-point lead in first. Chasing him is Lindsay Owen Jones in Magic Carpet.

On a dead heat going into the last race for the ‘Heavy’ cruiser division is George Lindemann’s 180-foot Adela and Harry Macklowe’s 112-foot Unfurled.