Davanti Tyres crew stages impressive comeback to claim J-Cup hat-trick

An incredible clean sweep on the final day of the Landsail Tyres J-Cup saw the Davanti Tyres yacht snatch victory for the third successive year.

A long-standing partnership between Davanti Tyres and Chaz Ivill has seen the crew enjoy many victories – but despite a solid start on day one at Royal Southern Yacht Club the Davanti team faced a strong challenge from a team of debutants.

Isabelle Hung’s ‘The Outsiders’, racing in the J/122 Jolly Jellyfish boat, were competing in their first J-Cup and made a major challenge for the title on the second day. Despite very windy conditions they came through to post a 1-3 in the IRC Big Boat Class.

After the discard kicked in Michael Wallis’ J/122 Jahmali has held onto the lead by a single point. J/112 Davanti Tyres, skippered by Marie-Claude Heys, remained in third and Davanti were facing the prospect of having to win every race on the final day to retain their title.

It was a challenge they rose to. They showed they are still leading the way by performing a clean sweep on Saturday to take the class honours for a third year in a row. They finished just ahead of Mike Wallis’ J/122 Jahmali with Hung’s Outsiders an admirable third.