Records and unforgettable stories below:
The 57th Kékszalag Raiffeisen Grand Prix officially ended with a ceremonial award ceremony held on Gyógy tér in Balatonfüred on Saturday evening. This year’s competition was made memorable by the records, the dramatic moments and the solidarity of the sailing community after Monday’s frighting … heavy storms. The live broadcast provided by Magyar Telekom was followed by more than 120 thousand viewers, and the field demonstrated an amazing sporting performance on Lake Balaton, even in challenging, strong winds.
The legendary celebration of Hungarian sailing, the 57th Kékszalag Raiffeisen Grand Prix, brought historic days. The field of 479 boats, which started at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning, had to withstand strong winds, sometimes exceeding 30 knots, for many for more than 10-15 hours. The good wind brought extraordinary speed and excitement. The victory was won by the MLS Raiffeisen Fifty-Fifty , helmed by Márton Józsa , which finished in an amazing time of 4 hours 24 minutes, improving its own previous record by more than 40 minutes. The speed of the race is indicated by the fact that the second-placed Sailing Team RSM (helmsman: Róbert Vándor ) and the third-placed Kürt-Team Kaáli (helmsman: Flóra Virág ) also completed the distance within the previous course record (5 hours 3 minutes).
Fantastic results in all boat classes … The 57th Kékszalag Raiffeisen Grand Prix proved that the magic of the competition lies in the diversity of the field. One of the biggest sensations of the day was the sailboat called Samurai Jack, which broke the record for monohulls with a time of 8 hours and 35 minutes. It is also curious that several monohulls were among the first 10 finishers, so it was not only catamarans that dominated the lead.
A separate trophy was awarded to recognize the epochal achievements of the classic boats. In the decades-long battle of prestige between the 75 cruisers , Lillafüred triumphed this year, with Olympic bronze medalist Detre Szabolcs steering the yacht, beating Sirocco by just two seconds at the finish line. With a time of 10 hours and 6 minutes, Lillafüred broke the classic record of 10 hours and 40 minutes set by the third-place 75 cruiser, Nemere II, in 1955, which was believed to be unbreakable. Moreover, Sirocco and Nemere II themselves were both faster than the historical record time.
Heroes, dramas and the power of the sailing community … The strong wind posed a serious challenge for the field. Several boats struggled with serious technical problems, and nearly fifty units, including big names such as thirteen-time winner Farkas Litkey, were forced to give up the fight.
The most dramatic story was that of the boat Sponsor Wanted . Both the Raffica and the René Raffica were damaged in Monday’s storm, the latter team consisting entirely of young people. The members of the two units joined forces and set off on the distance with a boat, the Sponsor Wanted, that they had made competitive in three days, and the Raffica mast. Although the mast, which was presumably damaged in the storm, ultimately could not withstand the load, the team earned the KPMG Fair Play Award for its unprecedented cooperation and sportsmanship .
“This exemplary collaboration and team spirit is worthy of the Fair Play award. The Sponsor Wanted team has proven that perseverance and collaboration can lead to victory even in the most difficult situations,” said Rezső Rózsai , CEO of KPMG Hungary.
The competition was full of memorable moments: 12-time Hungarian champion ice hockey player Krisztián Palkovics celebrated his 50th birthday by crossing the finish line, the “art boat” Queen Lucy (Jr. Ferenc Zenthe, Béla Szerednyey, Zoltán Barabás Kiss) finished second in its category, and 87-year-old Miklós Tuss , a three-time Blue Ribbon winner , became the oldest competitor this year and won first place in his category with his boat Hepp. The youngest participant in the competition was 8-year-old Márk Hermányi , who also won a silver medal in his category as a member of the Beach Body team.
The last boat, the Kaland , and its team, who arrived at the finish line after more than 29 hours of sailing, with champagne. This gesture also symbolized that the Blue Ribbon belongs to everyone who fulfilled the distance.
Successful mediation and technological background … The competition attracted huge interest, with well over 120,000 people following the television-quality live broadcast provided by Magyar Telekom. Viewers could also watch the broadcast, which was enriched with drone and motorboat footage and expert analysis, on the kekszalag.hu website, the Telekom Live YouTube channel, as well as on TV2 Play and Spíler 1 TV.
During the 57th Kékszalag Raiffeisen Grand Prix, the boat tracking system developed by Széchenyi István University and operated by Magyar Telekom functioned reliably and as intended, providing real-time data to both fans and competitors.
“The GPS-based technology provided accurate and real-time data to the organizers, competitors and spectators alike. The system stably supported digital tracking and live streaming throughout the competition,” said István Drotár , a representative of Széchenyi István University.
The Blue Ribbon Festival continued on Friday with the Audi Speed Challenge , where the fastest boats competed on an 800-meter course in front of the Balatonfüred pier. The competition was also won by the MLS Raiffeisen Fifty-Fifty team.
“The jewel of the Balaton sailing races, the Kékszalag Raiffeisen Grand Prix, is an event that not only the teams, the sport and the sponsors, but also an entire country look forward to with pride every year. At the same time, its speciality is the application of innovation, technology and digital development, which it offers more and more every year. This year, we saw more of the values that are important to us, as the race record was broken, the teams showed extraordinary solidarity after the storm and the race in general was characterized by sportsmanship. Raiffeisen Bank supports this and is proud to stand by the race for the seventh time, as tradition, teamwork, innovation and a sustainable, active domestic presence are behind our results,” said György Zolnai, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank.
“This year’s Blue Ribbon was made even more memorable by a storm that damaged several boats in the days before the race, but the strong winds ultimately resulted in a fantastically exciting race. This race showed all the beauty of sailing: how serious a sporting performance is needed for success, and how strong the cohesion is in the sailing community. It was a joy to see that in addition to the absolute record, the monohull and classic records were also broken, proving the unparalleled strength and diversity of the field. Congratulations to all participants: the winners, the record holders, and those who fought the elements at the end of the field for more than a day. A huge thank you goes to the organizers, chief organizer András Holczhauser, race director Tibor Verebély and the nearly 150-person team who participated in the professional organization, as well as our supporters, without whom this wonderful celebration would not be possible.” – summed up the event Prof. Dr. László Gellér , president of the Hungarian Sailing Association.
The 57th Blue Ribbon Raiffeisen Grand Prix has come to an end, but its legend lives on in the records, stories and in all those who were part of Lake Balaton’s biggest sailing celebration on the water or on the shore.
Raiffeisen Bank is the title sponsor of the competition for the 7th year .
Overview by Aggie Reiter
Rolling in Budapest 