Ainslie (pictured), Percy and his Star teammate Andrew Simpson are among the 40 British sailors across nine classes due to compete at the six day regatta, which opens tomorrow and lasts until Saturday (April 7) and is the first European World Cup regatta of the 2012 season and has welcomed some 900 sailors from 53 nations.

A back injury to Percy saw a premature halt to his and teammate Simpson's World Championship campaign in the Star keelboat class, but a period of rehabilitation during the key winter training months has seen him ready to race again, and the pair will be defending the Princess Sofia Trophy title they won with a day to spare in 2011.

Ainslie, winner of the Finn class at last year's event held in Palma Bay, has also been recovering from an operation on a long-standing back injury but has been pleased with recent progress and the long-term outlook.

"The last four weeks have seen some great gains in the reduced level of pain and my ability to train hard both on and off the water and it is a huge relief," reflected the triple Olympic gold medallist.

"I still have some way to go but if I can continue training at this intensity then I am confident that I will be fitter and stronger than I have been for a long time."

With the exception of Nick Dempsey and Bryony Shaw, who concluded their RS:X Windsurfing World Championships in Cadiz last week, all of Britain's selected London 2012 Olympic crews will be in action at the Palma regatta.


Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark (pictured) will seek to complete the loop of podium finishes at the one event which eluded them in their first year of campaigning together in the 470 women's class, while Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell will be in the fight in the 93-boat 470 men's fleet.

In the Laser class, Paul Goodison will aim for a second straight World Cup win to add to his victory in Miami in January, as will the Elliott 6m trio of Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush and Kate Macgregor who will be considered among the medal favourites in the 18-team women's match racing event.

Britain's sailors are also out in force in the three classes where London 2012 team selections have still to be made.

In the 49er class, Stevie Morrison-Ben Rhodes, John Pink-Rick Peacock, Dylan Fletcher-Alain Sign and Dave Evans-Ed Powys will be among the names to watch, while performance squad sailors Charlotte Dobson and Alison Young will be among those hoping to impress in the Laser Radial event.


In the one-person 2.4mR class – the only Paralympic class to be racing in Palma – Britain's Megan Pascoe (pictured) and Helena Lucas will look to build on their respective fourth and fifth place finishes at the Miami World Cup event.

"This regatta will provide a good opportunity for sailors to review their progress against their Olympic plans, following spring training," remarked Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Olympic manager Stephen Park.

"With just 117 days remaining until the first race of the Olympics, the number of high quality regattas for sailors to test their performance are few."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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