Rolex Middle Sea Race 2026: Overall winner announced

Stephanie C.

The overall winner of the 2026 Rolex Middle Sea Race has been confirmed: “Django 7X”, owned by Giovanni Lombardi Stronati, has won the 47th edition based on calculated IRC time. The Royal Malta Yacht Club confirmed the result on 21 October. None of the yachts still in the race managed to beat the decisive time set by the Wallyrocket 71.

With 107 yachts and 945 sailors from 55 countries, the offshore regatta set sail off Malta on 17 October. The 606-nautical-mile course took the fleet round Sicily and back to Malta. The changing conditions made the race a challenging tactical task.

‘Django 7X’ emerges victorious in the duel with ‘Balthasar’

On its way to overall victory, “Django 7X” was locked in a fierce battle with last year’s winner, “Balthasar”. For long stretches, the two yachts were neck and neck. Ultimately, “Django 7X” crossed the finish line 39 minutes ahead of its rival. Even after the IRC handicap was applied, this performance was enough to secure overall victory and, with it, the Rolex Middle Sea Race Trophy.

‘Black Jack 100’ wins Line Honours

“Black Jack 100” secured first place among the monohulls as early as Monday, 19 October. Remon Vos’s yacht, skippered by Tristan Le Brun, crossed the finish line at 15:51 local time. Its sailing time was two days, three hours and 51 minutes. These so-called Line Honours are awarded independently of the handicap. The overall victory, however, is decided by the calculated IRC time, with “Django 7X” coming out on top.

‘Artie III’ and ‘Colombre’ secure class victories

Several of the smaller yachts, which had initially looked promising in the overall standings, were also able to celebrate successes. The Maltese yacht “Artie III”, which had at one stage led the projected IRC overall standings, won IRC 3. It was also the first Maltese yacht to cross the finish line. ‘Colombre’, with Massimo Juris and Pietro Luciani, secured victory in both IRC 6 and the IRC double-handed classification. In IRC 6, ‘Red Ruby’ was provisionally in second place and ‘Diavolina’ in third.

Overall victory confirmed whilst other crews were still underway

The overall winner was decided before the entire fleet had returned. According to the organisers’ report of 21 October, 65 yachts had crossed the finish line by 17:30 local time. A further 28 were still in the race, whilst 14 had retired. This meant that the most important sporting decision had already been made, whilst for numerous crews the gruelling circumnavigation of Sicily was still underway.