The 2024 L30 World Championship, hosted by the Balatonfüredi Yacht Club, has concluded with a dramatic and unexpected finsh. Fifteen boats from seven nations competed successfully in 10 races in early October.
Heading into the final day, the results showed Attila Bakonyi’s team leading by four points ahead of Péter Tenke’s team. With the other competitors unable to influence the race for first place, the competition effectively became a match race between these two teams for the last two races. The second-placed team, however, performed better.
In the first race of the final day, Bakonyi's team managed to keep their opponents in check, finishing ahead of them but only in sixth place. With a disqualification (DSQ) as their discard, they were left with six points on the leaderboard, while Tenke’s team finished seventh. This reduced Bakonyi's lead to two points in the final race.
The last race was abandoned on the first attempt, but the boats restarted once a steady wind of 4-10 knots developed. In the first leg, the two teams engaged in a tactical match race, sailing in the second half of the fleet. Tenke’s team took the lead, with Bakonyi’s team close behind. If the race ended this way, Bakonyi’s team would have won overall. However, a wind shift allowed one boat to get between them, and by the third leg, two more boats had moved ahead of Bakonyi's. This turned the tide of the race, with Tenke’s team maintaining their advantage to finish in fourth place, while Bakonyi's team came in eighth. This sealed the championship for Team Tenke.
Dr. Péter Tenke expressed his delight: “We are world champions! We prepared for today by focusing on a match-race strategy. It would have been better for us if both teams had finished further back in the first race, as Bakonyi’s result wouldn’t have changed, and we didn’t mind losing positions. But we still managed to close the gap to two points. The final race was intense; we started close together, but in the end, three boats separated us, and that was enough for the win. I’m very happy with my team’s performance, especially as I was able to win alongside my son. Congratulations to the Bakonyi team for a brilliant contest—it was decided by just one or two key moments.”
Race Officer Bence Kárpáti summarized the event: “We experienced all of Lake Balaton’s weather conditions throughout the week, from 5-8 knot southwest breezes to 18 knot north winds. Surprisingly, the rain also brought steady winds of 7-9 knots. The final day allowed us to hold the two scheduled races, and I’m thrilled we managed to complete all 10 races. My team and I are very happy with how everything turned out.”
Results: click here