Tarhunz Wins the 2026 Ausmar Regatta Circuit in a Tiebreaker

The Tarhunz, X 41 skippered by Diego de las Heras of the Club Nàutic Torredembarra, is the overall champion of the 2026 Ausmar Regatta Circuit. The title was decided at the 8th Golden Cup Badalona, held from October 30 to November 1, where it finished tied at four points with the Diabolic, a Sun Fast 35 skippered by Glenn de Bouwer. The tiebreaker—which, according to the rules, favors the boat with the higher ranking in the final race—went in favor of the Tarhunz.

The Diabolic, which officially competes for the Royal Belgium Sailing Club but is also based in Torredembarra, arrived in Badalona as the clear favorite. It had secured four podium finishes in the four regattas held: an overall victory in La Ruta de la Sal Rumbo Ibiza, second place in the Ruta de la Tramuntana, and third place in the Bahía de Pollença and the Regata Rei en Jaume. Its rival, however, was another champion: the Tarhunz had won both the Bahía de Pollença and the Regata Rei en Jaume, finishing ahead of the Diabolic in both races.

A title that was decided over the two races in Badalona

The Circuit consists of five races, but only the three best results for each boat count, and boats must have participated in at least two. With that system, the Diabolic could even afford a poor result in Badalona and discard it. The Tarhunz, on the other hand, needed to finish first or second among the 18 boats entered in the Golden Cup that were also competing in the Circuit.

The long race, with 35 boats competing, brought him his first success: he finished fourth, while the Diabolic came in seventh. Of the three boats that finished ahead of him, only the Enigma, a DK 52 skippered by Lluís Tort of the RCN Barcelona, scored points toward the Circuit, so his fourth-place finish was effectively a virtual second-place finish. Squeezing in between them was the Bonadventure, an Arcona 385 skippered by Lluís Fargas of the CN Cambrils, which, with this race, met the minimum requirement of two starts to qualify for the standings.

In the coastal race, with 50 boats, the order was reversed: the Diabolic finished eighth, ahead of the Bonadventure (ninth) and the Tarhunz (eleventh). But the Golden Cup standings combine both races, applying a weighting of 1.2 for the offshore race and 1 for the inshore race, and that weighting saved the Tarhunz. It finished sixth, ahead of the Bonadventure (seventh) and the Diabolic (eighth), by margins of just 0.4 and 0.6 points, respectively.

Only the Enigma had finished ahead of the Tarhunz among the boats in the Circuit, so its sixth-place finish translated into a virtual second-place finish—that is, two points. Added to the point from each of its victories in the Bay of Pollença and the Rei en Jaume, De las Heras’s team finished with four points. The Diabolic reached the same total with one point for its victory in La Ruta de la Sal, another for its virtual first-place finish in the Tramuntana, and two for its relative second-place finish in the Rei en Jaume, after discarding its third-place finish in Pollença Bay and its virtual fourth-place finish in Badalona.

Podium Finishes and Participation on the Rise

Third place went to the Pekas X Masnavega, JOD 35 skippered by Pep Navarro of the Club de Mar Port Olímpic, with 21 points. The reigning champion of the 2025 edition reaffirms its consistency with a program that combines competition with the training of new sailors and regatta competitors. The Nirvana 3, skippered by José Martín, and the Bimba, skippered by Jordi Pérez, both with 25 points, round out the top five.

The Circuit, which includes La Ruta de la Sal Rumbo Ibiza, Bahía de Pollença, La Ruta de la Tramuntana, La Rei en Jaume, and the Golden Cup Badalona, brought together 1,420 sailors aboard 264 boats this year. Of these, 33 competed in at least two races and made the overall standings, compared to 30 in 2025 and 17 in 2024. For the second consecutive year, the main sponsor was AUSMAR, a leading company in maritime safety.