Copa del Rey Mapfre to Host Uber ORC B Class World Champion and the Best

In the Copa del Rey Mapfre yacht racing event, which will be held for the 44th time this year, the Uber ORC B class stands out as one of the categories likely to be at the highest level in terms of excitement. In these prestigious races to take place in Palma Bay, exactly twenty-four boats from ten different countries will compete. This situation will cause the competition to heat up and one of the most open and fiercely contested classes of the championship to emerge. The fleet includes not only the latest ORC world champion but also experienced crews who have made a name for themselves by winning other major regattas held throughout the season. Regional organizers and technical teams state that due to the very high quality of the participants, every single race (manga) could be decisive, and even minor mistakes will be difficult to recover from.

The team in the favorite position of the organization is the boat named "Katara", skippered by Argentine sailor Julián Somodi and bearing the title of current ORC world champion. Somodi and his crew are preparing for the cup with great morale and self-confidence; as they recently managed to win the Trofeo Conde de Godó and proved their strength by finishing second in the Trofeo S.M. La Reina. However, for followers, it stands out as a clear fact that other strong teams cannot be ignored either. Rodrigo Sanz's "Fórmula X", the champion of Sandberg PalmaVela, and Javier Sabiote's "Ebury", the recent winner of the Trofeo S.M. La Reina, are shown as the most serious rivals for the championship. The boat "Kine" owned by British sailor Sean McCarter and the successful "Mágica" skippered by Marco Comas are also among the names promising a thrilling competition.

The race is not only a struggle between athletes but also turns into an environment where different designs are launched into the sea and tested for performance in a technological sense. The XR 41 design had established an overwhelming superiority by outpacing its rivals in the 2025 World Championship. However, this season, thanks to the development of other teams, the power of this design is being tested relatively more, and the competition is balancing out. Even though a few boats of this design managed to reach the podium in the 2026 World Championship, it was observed that they could not establish a similar neutral and dominant hegemony as the previous year. This shows that the cup can also be won with non-exiled technologies and strategies, thus the competition on the water will heat up even more.

One of the most remarkable stories of this year's race is undoubtedly the return of the renowned Spanish owner Javier Banderas to the Uber ORC B class. Having achieved victory a total of eight times in the Copa del Rey Mapfre, Banderas had left a brilliant mark in this field in the past. The successful owner, who spent the last few seasons in the Abanca ORC 0 class and won the 2024 championship there, is now returning to the ORC B class, where he previously gained his fame. Stating that they are very excited about this return, Banderas expresses that they are both doing regular training and preparing to test their real performance on the water. His experience and background are considered one of the most important factors that could determine the course of the race.

On the other hand, Javier Sabiote's "Ebury" arrives at the cup as one of the most in-form teams, thanks to its recent successes. "Ebury" has both managed to write its name in the Trofeo S.M. La Reina and has captured high motivation by taking second place in the Trofeo Conde de Godó. The Infiniti GT 36 model boat named "Kine", skippered by British sailor Sean McCarter, had a breathtaking duel with the leading "Fórmula X" in past races and came in second, falling behind by just a one-point difference. Marco Comas's X-41 design boat "Mágica" also maintains its championship claim by collecting consistent points at different stops such as Palma and Barcelona. The gathering of all these talented and closely matched boats makes the ORC B class the most anticipated and undoubtedly the most exciting category of the 44th Copa del Rey Mapfre.