The Dragons on stage in Riva del Garda with their timeless charm

Riva del Garda – Everything is ready in Riva del Garda for the Grade 1 Dragon Italian Grand Prix, an event valid as the opening test of the circuit reserved for these timeless boats. Active since October 1961, the International Dragon Association is today led by president Poul Richard Høj Jensen, boasts active fleets in thirty-five countries and five continents and has always engaged the big names in international sailing.

Numbers and technical level that will also be well represented on the occasion of this event organized by Fraglia Vela Riva and supported by Yanmar, where the Dragoons were protagonists for the last time in October 2022: to animate the event, the whose opening ceremony is scheduled for this afternoon at the Lido Palace and whose regattas are scheduled between tomorrow and Saturday, there will in fact be over thirty-five crews, present representing nine countries, the most remote of which is Japan.

Among the marks there will be no shortage of the reigning world champions of 1Quick1, racing with the same crew – Wolf Waschkuhn, Joao Vidinha and Charles Nankinche – who won the world title in Bodrum last year, as will the Fever match which, ridden by Klaus Diederichs, Jamie Lea and Diego Negri, it won the world title in 2022 in Kuhlungsborn. Three crews will represent Italy: that of Marco Andrea Gerbaudo, who will focus on Giorgia Taddei, Andrea Totis and Davide Ortelli; and then ITA-79 by Yevgen Braslavets with Andrea Zaoli and ITA-16 by Guido Garrone with Federico Buscaglia on board.

The format of the event involves the holding of a maximum of eight tests, spread over four days. The program of social events connected to the event is also particularly busy, with the long-awaited Gala Dinner scheduled for Friday evening at the Spiaggia degli Ulivi and the awards ceremony, the last formal act, expected for Saturday afternoon.