For the last day of the event before switching to Defi Wind Superstars on Thursday, an official round was validated in the morning before kicking off three funny races. With a slightly more favourable wind forecast for this morning, the skipper’s meeting was brought forward to 8:00 am.

This decision proved to be crucial in validating this Defi Wind Japan 2020 since it was the very first race of the day, which was the right one. With a wind around 12 knots punctuated by a few gusts on flat water, it still glided quite thoroughly with sails larger than 8m2. With a very good low-end speed, Alex Cousin flew to victory, far ahead of Jordy Vonk and Julien Quentel [more] 
Among the girls, it was the Japanese Ayako Suzuki who prevailed and celebrated the luxury of getting ahead of the Slalom World Champion, Delphine Cousin. Mio Anayama completed the podium.
A second official race was then attempted, but the race management decided not to go due to insufficient planing conditions. It was a difficult decision to pass on to Japanese participants who are used to validating races regardless of the strength of the wind.
Fun Races
The following races were then run in “funny” race mode so that the foils could be allowed.
With the World Cup turning into a slalom foil this year, the pros expected nothing else than to compete with those tools, and the fight was intense over three new races. Antoine Albeau showed good speed, Alex Cousin was always in the game too, and Antoine Questel was never far away.
But Pierre Mortefon was unstoppable, and he won this overall “Funny Race” event.
Delphine Cousin achieved a solid top 10 finish overall, thus putting several top men behind her. She finished first in front of her friend Marion Mortefon for only a small point difference. Yuki Sunaga completed the women’s podium.
Among weekend racers, this last day, a little windier, made it possible to conclude the event in style.
Born in Brittany but expatriate in Tokyo, Romain Barba “has no regret having made the trip. This morning’s race was cool. I was in an 8.4 m2 sail, and it was gliding well.”
“Of course, I would have preferred more wind, but the water and the island are magnificent. I discovered a spot that I didn’t know, and I will definitely come back, maybe even with the family!”.
The pros will have a break tomorrow before switching to the Defi Wind Superstars, which promises to be much windier.
2020 Defi Wind Japan | Results
Men
1. Alexandre Cousin (FRA)
2. Jordy Vonk (NED)
3. Julien Quentel (SXM)
4. Nicolas Warembourg (FRA)
5. Amado Vrieswijk (BON)
6. Antoine Questel (FRA)
7. Pierre Mortefon (FRA)
8. Akihiko Yamada (JAP)
9. Akinori Goshi (JAP)
10. Tomonori Anami (JAP)
Women
1. Ayako Suzuki (JAP)
2. Delphine Cousin (FRA)
3. Mio Anayama (JAP)