Caja Mediterraneo Region of Murcia Trophy (Photo by Ian Roman / Audi MedCup)
The penultimate regatta of the 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit, the Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy starts off Cartagena in just one week’s time and has drawn a full complement of 11 TP52 teams and five GP42’s. With the public village opening next Saturday the Audi MedCup logistics team is working at full stretch to make sure everything is ready for another successful visit to Cartagena
The return to Cartagena will be welcomed by crews and organisers alike, not just for the memorable sailing conditions which were served up last year, when the big, steep waves and brisk afternoon winds produced some of the season’s most dramatic action images, but for the warmth of the welcome and the huge enthusiasm which the historic city always reserves for the Audi MedCup. This will be the third consecutive year that the Audi MedCup returns.
The Audi MedCup Circuit Public Village opens with free access to visitors on Saturday 21st August with the official TP52 Practice Race on the Tuesday and points racing beginning on Wednesday. The GP42’s have their practice race Wednesday, and the TP52 Coastal Race is scheduled for Friday 27th.
As always Cartagena delivers a very active and comprehensive supporting social programme. The Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy forms the centerpiece of a week long festival of activities including Roman and Carthagenian parades, a regional championship for young Optimist sailors (23rd-25th), a custom motorbike show on Saturday 28th and an aircraft display on the final day of the regatta, Sunday 29th.
Challenging the Kiwi consistency
Over history the city and surrounding towns have become no strangers to conflict. Of strategic importance near the entrance to the Mediterranean and blessed with valuable mineral resources, Cartagena and the adjacent lands saw many battles at sea and on land. Next week it will be up to Audi MedCup champions Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) – who won here last year – to prove they can hold off the attacks from their principal TP52 Series rivals, to protect or increase the lead they have through to the end of the season.
Indeed even if the 2009 champions left Murcia with their current lead intact at 28.5 points they would be in a strong position to defend their overall championship title, but at the forefront of their minds is the knowledge that their margin represents little more than one bad day. The strengths of the challengers appear to be more consistent this season with Quantum Racing (USA) and Artemis (USA) both winning regattas this year.
Photo By Ian Roman / Audi MedCup)
At this stage in the season with settled teams, there are few significant crew changes announced so far. After a disappointing regatta in Barcelona, the Franco-German team on Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE have French navigator Philippe Mourniac – who was unable to race there – returning. The all Italian line up on Luna Rossa (ITA) remains the same, buoyed by last week’s triumph in the Melges 24 World Championships of helm Lorenzo Bressani (ITA).
GP42 Series: Tied at the top
After Madrid – Caser Seguros’ (ESP) first regatta win in Barcelona, they now lead the GP42 Series but only on a tie-break with Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP), the reigning Audi MedCup Champions. Skipper/tactician Jose María Van der Ploeg (ESP), who sidelined in Barcelona by injury, returns to lead the line in Cartagena.
Cartagena holds bittersweet memories for Madrid – Caser Seguros helmsman Paolo Cian (ITA). It was here that on the last leg of the last race his Roma (ITA) team lost the 2009 title to the Canarias team. But Madrid – Caser Seguros is going better than ever, and after winning six of nine races in Barcelona could be considered the team to beat for the Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy.
Quotes:
Ed Reynolds (USA), project manager Quantum Racing (USA):
“ ETNZ certainly seem more vulnerable than they did last year, but they are still doing what they need to do. Minimize the big score and stay consistent. There are still 200+ points left at play for the season, so a lot can happen.”
“Barcelona seemed like “the one that got away”.
“We’ve won the most races so far this year, so I know we are going well. But, we’ve put a few big numbers up, which has kept us from closing on the Kiwis.”
Ray Davies (NZL), tactician Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL):
“ We need to keep pushing and looking to improve in all areas, this has always been ETNZ’s philosophy, if you stop improving you get left behind. It’s hard to find new ways but they are out there, it’s our goal to make small gains in all areas rather then to look for one big edge.”
“ The level of the fleet is the highest yet. The main reason is it’s easy to copy and to catch up but its hard to find the next level of improvement, I think if we were to have built a new boat we would have made another jump but there is only one new boat this year, all other teams made modifications and copied a lot of our features from last year so they all made big gains, we made small gains by the new ideas and modifications we made. I’m proud we have managed to keep setting the standard.”
José María Van der Ploeg (ESP), skipper Madrid – Caser Seguros (ESP):
“Our goal in Cartagena is to do well and win, because although we are the leaders of the Circuit, we are tied overall and we depend on each race. Last season it was decided on the final leg of the last race of the Circuit, and I think this year it is not going to be any different. So the goal is to sail very focused. ”
Photo by Francesco Ferri / Studio Borlenghi/ Audi MedCup)
Audi MedCup (Photo by Ian Roman / Audi MedCup)
Quantum Racing lead the TP52 Series after the first day of racing, while Madrid – Caser Seguros’ s perfect hat trick of wins sees them top the GP42 leaderboard.
Quantum Racing (USA) emerged as overall leaders of the Camper Regatta – Conde de Godó Trophy – Barcelona after opening with two fifth places and a second on what proved an especially testing first day of racing as the Audi MedCup Circuit competes for the first time ever off the Catalan capital.
As an introduction to a new venue nothing was gained easily in the moderate 9-13 knots NE’ly breezes. With the start line set directly in front of where the Olympic village was for the 1992 Olympic Games, relatively close to the shore, there was an awkward choppy sea kicked back off the beach to contend with. The variable cloud cover moved the wind around from time to time, the breeze varied in strength across the course and the racing for the most part was extremely close with small errors punished heavily in the intense competition.
The Quantum Racing team came back to the dock at the city’s Moll de la Fusta, greeted by huge crowds. After a long day on the water the 2008 Audi MedCup champions looked mildly frazzled but content to have stuck within their budgeted 12 points for the day which leaves them leading by only one point from a trio comprising Emirates Team New Zealand in second, Artemis (SWE) in third and Bribón (ESP) in fourth, whilst Cristabella (GBR) lies fifth.
Hat trick in GP42 Series
In the GP42 Series Madrid Caser Seguros (ESP) kept up a perfect score through all three races in spite of the loss of skipper Jose Maria van der Ploeg. The 1992 Finn Olympic gold medallist had to miss out the opening race of the series off his home city after sustaining an ankle injury before the start.
As if to highlight how hard it was to stay regular in these conditions, in the TP52 fleet, Britain’s Cristabella took second in the first race, won the second race and then rode the rollercoaster down to an 11th in the third. Three different boats won races.
After weak openings in Cascais and Marseille, Emirates Team New Zealand seemed to despatch any talk of a first day hoodoo when they won the first race, profiting when early leaders Bribón let them squeeze inside them at the leeward gate.
In the third race the all-Italian Luna Rossa team read the top of the first beat to perfection and lead Quantum Racing across the finish line to post their first win of their Audi MedCup Circuit TP52 campaign.
In the light of losing out the first planned day of racing there will now be no Coastal Race at this regatta.
GP42′s: three wins for Madrid – Caser Seguros
Despite losing tactician Jose Maria van der Ploeg (ESP) to an ankle injury just prior to Race 1 today, Madrid Caser-Seguros (ESP) led by helmsman Paolo Cian (ITA) took the early regatta lead. With a perfect 1-1-1, the team built a solid five point cushion over Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP).
Van der Ploeg had to be taken by RIB off the boat pre-start and the team substituted sailing coach Carlos Llamas.
The unusual big wave, light breeze conditions put a premium on teamwork as well as raw speed, and today Madrid Caser-Seguros showed supremacy in both.
“We worked hard to optimize our weight, rig, and sail settings,” said Cian, “and today it paid off. We had the speed when we needed it, and there were a few situations when it was critical.”
Today’s three wins vaults them up into being tied in points but taking the lead in the tie-break with Islas Canarias Puerto Calero for the overall series standings.
Quotes of the day:
Terry Hutchinson (USA), skipper helm Quantum Racing (USA):
“Consistency is the key here for sure. The middle race was a little frustrating for us because we lost two boats within a hundred metres of the finish line, and so that was hard race because we had sailed really, really well. But then in the last race, Ado, Kevin, Tom and all the guys did really nice work and we battled. One of the things we talked about as a team is that if you go 1,1,2 and then 9,10, then the 1,1.2’s don’t really do a lot for you. So our goal for the day was to come out with 12 points or less and we did that.”
“Oh man, it was really hard. The last race was 12-13, the middle race was about 11-13 and it was really, really lumpy. The NE’ly breeze was bouncing off the beach and the sea wall and we had a lot of chop and standing waves, and that on top of everything else when you are competing against really, really good sailors, you have to contend with that. But it is hard for everyone. But that is only one day and we enjoy that for a couple of minutes and move on to thinking about the next ones.”
Ray Davies (NZL), tactician Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL):
“ We had a good day today, we are happy with the day, one point off the lead at the end of the day. We’ll take that any time. At the start of the day we obviously started really strong but in the last race we slipped back on the first run, losing a couple of boats there and that was sort of a turning point in that race for us.”
“In these particular conditions everyone is going to have difficult tricky races, the big thing downwind is you can get a surge on a wave and the situation can change quite dramatically. We got on the wrong side of a couple down the first run of the last race and lost a couple of boats there.”
“It’s good to have a good first day, we haven’t had a good first day all year yet.”
Simon Fisher (GBR), navigator Cristabella (GBR):
“ It was a pretty difficult day today, complicated with all the wind not a very typical Barcelona day really so there was a lot to think about, to try and manage in terms of the weather. We had gradient breeze and sea breeze a lot of clouds coming over the course. It was a tough day for the tacticians. Nevertheless we had a very good day. We had a second and a first, and unfortunately we couldn’t sort of carry it through to the last one and didn’t do as well in the final race but it was a good day performance.”
“But we are out there in the hunt so that’s our objective.”
Jose Maria van der Ploeg (ESP), taken off Madrid Caser-Seguros (ESP):
“It’s nothing really serious, but I think that leaving the boat [before racing] was the right call. We have to see how it evolves, but I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to sail tomorrow.” Regarding the team’s winning today without him: “It’s been great. I think that’s the best gift they could give me. I’m really happy!”
Paolo Cian (ITA) helmsman Madrid Caser-Seguros (ESP):
“We worked hard to optimize our weight, rig, and sail settings, and today it paid off. We had the speed when we needed it, and there were a few situations when it was critical.”
Camper Regatta – Conde de Godó Trophy – Barcelona
TP52 Series
Day 2
1. Quantum Racing (USA), 5+5+2= 12 points
2. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 1+4+8= 13
3. Artemis (SWE), 7+2+4= 13
4. Bribón (ESP), 3+3+7= 13
5. Cristabella (GBR), 2+1+11= 14
6. TeamOrigin (GBR), 10+6+3= 19
7. Luna Rossa (ITA), 9+11+1= 21
8. Matador (ARG), 4+9+9= 22
9. Synergy (RUS), 6+10+6= 22
10. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 12(DNC)+8+5= 25
11. Bigamist 7 (POR), 8+7+10= 25
GP42 Series
Day 1
1. Madrid – Caser Seguros (ESP), 1+1+1= 3 points
2. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP), 2+4+2= 8
3. Iberdrola (ESP), 3+2+3= 8
4. AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA), 4+3+5= 12
5. Península Petroleum (GBR), 5+5+4= 14
TP52's Take Off (Photo by Stefano Gattini / Studion Borlenghi / Audi MedCup )
Only the GP42 Series’ official practice heat was completed today, the first scheduled racing day of the Camper Regatta – Conde de Godó Trophy – Barcelona.
The 11 strong TP52 Series fleet representing 10 different nations, were left waiting, poised and ready for their first ever points racing off Barcelona, but the light breezes proved insufficient to get competition under way.
Around five hours in the hot summer Mediterranean sunshine, tracking the fickle breeze proved to be in vain for the TP52 teams who watched closely to see what they could learn from their smaller GP42 cousins as they took part in a slow, shifty practice race.
But the breeze all but evaporated before the second windward leg was completed and their race was shortened before the final downwind.
For the GP42’s the light airs practice was considered a good chance to get attuned to the kind of conditions which are expected to prevail for some of this regatta. Their practice race today started in a promising 8 knots, but soon degraded to less than 6 knots with many light air zones and shifts in direction down.
Even though AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA) had an enormous lead around the first top mark, they fell prey to the fickle conditions and Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) was able to take and hold the lead into the finish.
This must be promising for the Canarias team, as light air has not been their strong suit in previous stages.
Madrid Caser-Seguros (ESP), runner-up in the practice race today and a sistership to Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, has been aggressively changing their boat set-up to optimize for light air. They did this by removing some heavy items on board and adding corrector weights to get to the absolute bare minimum all-up weight (4200 kg) which was verified by class measurer Jorge Flethes (ESP) on a crane scale yesterday. This and “a few rig and sail changes,” says helmsman Paolo Cian (ITA), “will make us a little faster in the light air. But overall we feel really good for this regatta.”
While they retired today, another team to watch in the light air will be Iberdrola (ESP), who won handily in the first day’s light air at the last stage in Marseille. They have an older generation Botin Carkeek design that has proven to be a good overall performer, and in the light they seem to have an edge on the newer Botin Carkeek designs.
And if only through sheer will, Peninsula Petroleum (GBR) will be strong in their quest to dig out from the points deficit.
Opening party
Last night the Audi MedCup Regatta village for the Camper Regatta – Conde de Godó Trophy – Barcelona on the Moll de la Fusta came alive for a huge opening party which drew more than 700 invited guests, including many local Barcelona celebrities and VIP’s.
Three races are scheduled for the both the TP52 Series fleet and the GP42 Series fleet tomorrow (Thursday) with this evening’s forecast seeming to offer the prospect of a racing breeze.
Audi MedCup Warm Up Action ( Photo by Nico Martinez / Audi MedCup )
Audi Medcup Fleet at dock (Photo by Enrico Fager / Audi MedCup)
The Audi MedCup Circuit, the world’s leading regatta circuit offers an unparalleled visitor experience on land. From 17 to 25 July, Barcelona’s Moll de la Fusta is the location of the Public Village of the Camper Regatta – Conde de Godó Trophy – Barcelona, an enjoyable self contained fun and entertainement area for all ages with free daily access from 11:00 to 20:30 h.
From 20 to 25 July, Barcelona will host the third regatta of the Audi MedCup Circuit 2010, the Camper Regatta – Conde de Godó Trophy – Barcelona. Together with a tough, evenly matched race series on the water, complemented on land by the the spectacular Public Village, a real theme park for all ages with free access which is available at each regatta location around Europe. In Barcelona, the leisure facilities will be set up at the Moll de la Fusta, where it will remain open to the public daily from 11:00 to 20:30 h (CET) from Saturday, July 17 to Sunday, July 25.
The entertainment includes introductory courses in sailing, a circuit of water skates for children, driving and sailing simulators, radio controlled boats, a five meters high climbing wall, an inflatable climbing wall boat for the children, test of strength competitions using sailing hardware, different competitions with valuable prizes, exhibitions, touch screens to interactively explore the world of sailing … Activities will finish up each day with live music from different DJs and bands from Barcelona, like Faces in Disguise (Saturday, 17), 84 (Sunday, 18), Debilorithmicos (Fridays, 23), The Walks (Saturday, 24), La Musicalité (Saturday, 24) or La Familia Rustika (Sunday, 25). Furthermore, while enjoying the Public Village, visitors can watch live how crews set up and prepare for racing which will begin on Tuesday, 20th.
From that day, the visitor activity is supported by a dock-out shows daily between 11:00 and 12:00 as the racing boats head out on to the race course. From the Public Village, the races can be followed live on giant screens between 13:00 and 17:00 h.
Once finished racing up for the day, between 16:00 and 18:00 h, crews will return to the dock and again the public can discover how they race on their boats. Each day, two teams will also race each other on the Audi Playstation driving simulators, and two other teams will face off in a grinder competition to highlight to the public who are the most skilled teams on the Audi MedCup Circuit.
On Saturday, free access to the pontoon
On Saturday 17th, the day of othe Public Village official opening on the Moll de la Fusta, visitors will have free access to the docks to see at very close hand the 11 TP52’s and five GP42’s participating in the Camper Regatta – Conde de Godó Trophy – Barcelona.
That same day, the boats will stay ashore for the public to facilitate this unique opportunity. From 20:00 h, the pop-rock band Faces in Disguise open stage at the Village with the first concert of the week.
Emirates Team New Zealand (Photo by Nico Martinez / Audi MedCup)
Emirates Team New Zealand took firm control of the Portugal Trophy Cascais regatta today when they convincingly won the 40 miles coastal race. While the team won four of the five 2009 regattas this is the first time they have won a coastal race. Puerto Calero lead the GP42 Series.
After they took the lead around the most westerly turning mark, off Cabo Raso, they were never challenged, heading the fleet all the way down to the eastern extremity which was at the historic Belem Tower in Lisbon’s River Tajo.
Winning by one and a half minutes, the current champions extended their overall lead to a solid 14 points at the head of the regatta leaderboard as TeamOrigin, slipped from second place overall to fourth after they could only make a frustrating ninth place today.
The Kiwi team’s only minor hiccup was blowing out a gennaker at the Cabo Raso turn, but they very quickly regrouped and were able to dominate on the long and very spectacular full speed run downwind in the strong northerly wind which gusted over 25 knots.
Audi MedCup Portugal Trophy Fleet Upwind (Photo by Ian Roman / Audi Medcup)
It was a demanding coastal race in every respect, finishing only 100 metres off the Marina of Cascais breakwater, where the wind carried the imprint of the buildings behind and so there was some place changing and interest until the end.
Matador (ARG) steered by Guilermo Parada (ARG) with Francesco Bruni (ITA) calling tactics made their biggest gains on this long run from the Cape and held on to second place all way round to the finish line, helping their climb back up the table to lie sixth overall.
But the frustration for TeamOrigin (GBR) will be to investigate why they slipped progressively down the fleet. They sailed a good race from a tactical point of view and lead early in the race, chasing Emirates Team New Zealand around the westernmost turn. But by the time they passed Cascais again they has already slipped three places, passed on both sides.
A ninth place finish does not do justice to their sailing as a crew today. TeamOrigin’s team director Mike Sanderson (NZL) admitted later ‘we just fell off the planet’ but that they felt they were slow before that turn, on the top of the upwind leg as well as on the long downwind, but they are looking at all options.
Third place across the finish line today elevates the Franco-German Audi A1 powered by All4ONE, skippered by Germany’s Jochen Schuemann, up to second overall but they are only half a point ahead of Sweden’s Aretmis, with TeamOrigin another half point behind them. Emirates Team New Zealand just need a solid day, a contrast to their opening here last Wednesday, to secure their fifth Audi MedCup Circuit Regatta in a row.
GP42 Series Puerto Calero pulls further out front
The breeze-on 20-25 knot conditions today were favorable to the Canarias-based Puerto Calero (ESP) team, who have pulled out to a 6-point lead over the nearest rival, Madrid-Caser Seguros (ESP) after seven races sailed. Their choice of a smaller heavy-weather jib looked wrong for the first race’s 15-20 knot conditions, but certainly came into its own in the second race’s gusty 25 knot blasts coming off the Cascais shoreline.
The first race saw the Iberdrola (ESP) team showing off their America’s Cup heritage, with flawless tactics and boathandling vaulting them into the lead ahead of AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA).
In the second race, Peninsula Petroleum (GBR) shook off the dust of a poor first race to win the start at the pin end and take an early lead, but the huge puffs rolling down the course put Puerto Calero into their own with that small jib, allowing them to take a lead they never relinquished. AIRISESSENTIAL also got back into the fray with much-improved crew work downwind and good pace upwind, but a broach suffered just after the last gybe into the finish pushed them back to fourth, behind Madrid-Caser Seguros and Peninsula Petroleum.
Portugal Trophy, Cascais
TP52 Series
Overall – Day 4
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 6+11+1+1+4+2+1+1,5= 27,5 points
2. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 9+7+4+6+1+5+5+4,5= 41,5
3. Artemis (SWE), 3+6+7+8+3+7+2+6= 42
4. TeamOrigin (GBR), 4+9+2+4+2+1+7+13,5= 42,5
5. Synergy (RUS), 8+1+6+3+5+8+3+15= 49
6. Matador (ARG), 7+2+5+9+8+12(DSQ)+6+3= 52
7. Quantum Racing (USA), 1+5+8+2+10+9+8+10,5= 53,5
8. Cristabella (GBR), 2+8+3+5+9+6+10+12= 55 points
9. Luna Rossa (ITA), 5+3+9+10+6+3+9+16,5= 61,5
10. Bribón (ESP), 10+10+10+12(DNC)+7+4+4+7,5= 64,5
11. Bigamist 7 (POR), 11+4+11+7+11+10+12(DNF)+9= 75
GP42 Series
Overall – Day 3
1. Puerto Calero (ESP), 1+1+2+1+2+3+1= 11 points
2. Madrid-Caser Seguros (ESP), 3+2+3+2+1+4+1= 17
3. Iberdrola (ESP), 2+5+1+3+3+1+5= 20
4. Peninsula Petroleum (GBR), 4+3+4+5+4+5+3= 28
5. AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA), 5+4+5+4+6(DNF)+2+4= 30
Audi Medcup (Photo by Nico Martinez / Audi Medcup)
Grant Dalton (NZ), foredeck or mast Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL):
“ We sailed all right. We got outside Origin at the top, then we blew a chute out, which wasn’t that flash. It had a little nick in it. But I think we are going reasonably quick. Matador was reaching pretty well, but probably it has surprised us. And I’d say the bigger surprise was for Origin how slow they were reaching. It’s the first off-shore race, if we can call it offshore, that we won, in the five regattas last year we had never been better than second so that’s good, we sailed quite well.”
Mike Sanderson (NZL) team director TeamOrigin (GBR):
“ The first lap we were going really quick and go great and in the first two thirds of the way out to Cape Raso. It was going great and then we just sort of fell off the planet, to be honest, before we got to the mark, and ETNZ went from where they were right behind us to getting way up inside us and we just assumed that we had some current on, or had just been particularly unlucky with the shift or whatever, but athen from that point on it was a very tough race we just seemed to be off the pace.
“We were just off the pace. We were slow jib reaching and we just shouldn’t be. We don’t know if we caught something because the problem is that after you finish you go back as you drop the main, so even if we did have something there you would not know it. If we did not have something there then we are certainly not be going to be looking forwards to the coastal races in the future. We just have to work through it. That’s why we are here, to build on our team work, on our relationship with our shore crew and designers and we have to work through the issues. Long term you probably need the bad days more than the good . After a good days it is easy. After the bad days we need to be sure that we are being totally honest with ourselves, and getting the best out of each other. The guys did an awesome job once again Ben started well and Percy and Bart (Andrew Simpson) and Juan Vila the guys are sailing really well. I mean, losing places when jib reaching is unheard of, and so we have to get to the bottom of it.”
Jean Marie Dauris (FRA), bowman Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER):
“ We’ve sailed well, just in the first downwind we’ve made some little mistakes and didn’t round the mark very well and that has cost us some places where we could have been second. But we’ve sailed a very good second downwind where we passed a good number of boats, and rounded second. We got beaten by Matador on the reach but we are very happy. We confirmed to ourselves that we can sail this boat.”
Francesco Bruni (ITA), tactician Matador (ARG):
“ We’ve managed to move up very quickly on the downwind, it was very quick. The fleet was very tight and we gybed last on the downwind and then we were third down, and and from then on we’ve made a good race, a good beat, nice manouvers, up at Cabo Raso, a good gybe, and we’ve passed TeamOrigin, it seems they had some speed problems downwind, so we held our second position but it went very well.”
Jose Mª Ponce (ESP), skipper Puerto Calero (ESP):
“We are happy with how we performed today though in the second race our start wasn’t that good, we set our small jib today because the conditions were good for it but the start was just bad and with such shifty conditions it’s difficult to move up.”
Laureano Wizner (ESP), skipper Iberdrola (ESP):
“ The first race was great and the second a disaster. In the last downwid we’ve broached twice when blowing the kite. We got apart from the group, the first broach happened when we where blowing the spi and then in the second one we were jybing and the spi sheet got caught. We are all very level, so any mistake is costly, and this wind amplifies them.”
Audi MedCup (Photo by Ainhoa Sanchez / Audi MedCup)
Cristabella TP52 Winner Day 1 (Photo by Ian Roman/Audi MedCup)
Three different TP52′s won the first three races of the new 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit season today off Cascais, Portugal, but it is Britain’s much improved Cristabella which leads the TP52 Series. John Bassadone’s Peninsula Petroleum won the practice race for the GP42 Series.
Cristabella, the British flagged TP52 shrugged off any sailing superstitions that it may be unlucky to win a regatta’s practice race when they emerged from a challenging first day of the new 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit season with a very slender lead of just one point over 2008 champions Quantum Racing.
Cristabella, owned by John Cook, skippered by John Cutler and steered by Tim Powell scored a second, eighth and a third from the three races on the bay of Cascais which were contested in moderate wind conditions which were never easy or consistent.
Underlining the strength and depth of the fleet this season, the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit TP52 Series champions Emirates Team New Zealand could only muster a modest start to their defence, posting a sixth and an 11th before regaining their winning ways, victorious in Race 3 by 49 seconds over Britain’s debutants TeamOrigin.
After the first day of racing of the new it is an easy conclusion to draw that the three teams which are new to the Audi MedCup Circuit, Luna Rossa, TeamOrigin and Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE, have significantly increased the overall standard, even considering that some have had very little sailing time with their boats. Consistency across the three races was difficult and often teams which were among the vanguard of one race would find themselves slugging it out in the lower reaches of the fleet, unable to gain places.
Emirates Team New Zealand, for whom consistently excellent starting was one of the building blocks of their Circuit title last year, made two consecutive sub-standard starts and were unable to fight back through into the top half of the fleet. When they did conspire to get off the start line in better shape, it was a familiar sight as they extended to take their first win of the season in Race 3.
Cristabella’s laconic part Kiwi tactician John Cutler confirmed today that they were happy to take Tuesday’s winning gun for the practice race as much simply because “last year we could scarcely get out of our own way, so anything at all seemed worth taking.” Their 2009 season finished inauspiciously when they damaged their rig in the penultimate race of the season, but with a new keel, rudder, rig, sails, and changes to the crew line up, early indications suggest that the British boat could be contenders this season.
Quantum Racing (USA) won the first race of the season, just passing Cristabella on the second downwind leg. Karol Jablonski (POL) then steered the Russian boat Synergy to win the second race of the day, getting the better of Matador (ARG) who took third.
GP42 Series official training race for Peninsula Petroleum
Being at his first-ever Audi MedCup regatta, it could be argued that owner/driver John Bassadone (GBR) had a stroke of Beginner’s Luck in winning today’s Practice Race in the GP42 Series. After all, this was his first race appearance in his newly-renovated boat Peninsula Petroleum (GBR) (ex-Madrid), even though his team had competed a few weeks ago at the Palma Vela event without him.
But they had a strong start in the 12-14 knot conditions to allow them an early lead in the race, only to get reined in by another owner/driver, Roberto Monti on AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA), who rounded the last top mark in the lead to the finish. But this lead too was not safe, as World Tour match race veteran Paolo Cian (ITA) steering Madrid – Caser Seguros (ESP) just metres astern, drove Monti and team into the corner whilst the remainder of the class gybed away back towards the favored side.
The move cost Monti the race, but he didn’t seem concerned. „This is the start of a long series, we’ll have plenty of chances to get back at Paolo,“ he said with a smile.
Reigning GP42 Series MedCup champion Puerto Calero (ESP) sat at the dock today as team members arrived on site and their final preparations were being made. Skipper Jose Maria Ponce and his young team from Islas Canarias were planning a late day sail to shake out the cobwebs, but he seemed pretty relaxed.
Tomorrow sees the first races of the season for the GP42 Series.
Portugal Trophy, Cascais
TP52 Series
Overall – Day 1
1. Cristabella (GBR), 2+8+3= 13 points
2. Quantum Racing (USA), 1+5+8= 14
3. Matador (ARG), 7+2+5= 14
4. Synergy (RUS), 8+1+6= 15
5. TeamOrigin (GBR), 4+9+2= 15
6. Artemis (SWE), 3+6+7= 16
7. Luna Rossa (ITA), 5+3+9= 17
8. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 6+11+1= 18
9. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 9+7+4= 20
10. Bigamist 7 (POR), 11+4+11= 26
11. Bribón (ESP), 10+10+10= 30
GP42 Series
Official Training Race
1. Peninsula Petroleum (GBR), 00:59:39
2. Madrid-Caser Seguros (ESP), +00:21
3. Iberdrola (ESP), +00:24
4. AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA), +00:27
5. Puerto Calero (ESP), DNC
AIR ESSENTIAL 2009 Audi MedCup(Photo by Nico Martinez/Audi MedCup)
The launch of the Portugal Trophy, Cascais, the first stage of the 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit, is only a couple weeks away and we spoke to Javier Goizueta (ESP), the new GP42 Class President, to learn about the latest news on the teams participating in this year’s GP42 Series.
“Today, we have five pre-registered five teams commited to complete their entries within the next few weeks: three are Spanish, one is British and one from Italy,” Goizueta says. He faces the presidency of the GP42 Class with an interesting season ahead, where he will combine his new role along with the co-ownership of the GP42 Madrid – Caser Seguros (ESP) together with José María van der Ploeg (ESP). Their 2009 Botin & Carkeek design will face this new season after finishing third overall last year, including their victory of the GP42 Series at the Portugal Trophy.
All the pre-registered teams are in their final stages of preparing for the season, with two committed to compete in the Palma Vela regatta (April 14-18) in order to check sails and the changes made to their boats during the winter. One of these is John Bassadone’s (GBR) Peninsula Petroleum (GBR), new into the GP42 Series this year. The British owner bought the Botin & Carkeek ex-Turismo Madrid after competing for the first time on a GP42 during last October’s Puerto Calero GP42 Global Cup in Lanzarote.
Peninsula Petroleum (Photo by Ignacio Baixuli / Audi MedCup)
The Audi MedCup’s newest GP42 Series team to join the Circuit, John Bassadone’s Botin Carkeek designed Peninsula Petroleum (GBR), has been first of the fleet out to train off the Spanish port of Burriana Nova, 35 km north of Valencia, the home of boatbuilders Longitud Cero. Bassadonne’s team acquired Turismo Madrid, and Chimo Lopez and his team have made some alterations to the keel during the winter.
The other team racing in the Palma Vela regatta will be Roberto Monti’s (ITA) AIRISESSENTIAL (ITA), after making some slight changes to their deck layout, and with some new team members and new sails.
Joining these three will be two other boats which have confirmed their participation in the 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit. Both are Botín & Carkeek designs, with one racing last year in Alicante and Cartagena as Iberdrola (ESP), and the other none other than the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit GP42 Series Champion, Daniel Calero’s (ESP) Puerto Calero (ESP).
Schedule and guests
“I think that this year’s calendar is superb,” Javier Goizueta remarks. “Including Barcelona as a venue is just fantastic all around: the race course, the notoriety, the infrastructures,… I think that is an absolute good idea in terms of development of the Circuit.”
Together with the two new venues (Cascais and Barcelona), the President of the GP42 Class highlights another novelty which, in his opinion, will help in the promotion of the Audi MedCup Circuit and the two Series participating, GP42 and TP52. This year, one guest will be sailing onboard each GP42 and TP52, both during racing and during the official training days. “This year we have an innovation which I think is fundamental: the onboard guest,” said Goizueta. “Thinking of the non-specialised media, an owner’s business-to-business contacts and potential new owners, this is a very powerful tool that we want to take full advantage of.”
This new rule is not the only one to be a good promotional tool, according to Goizueta: “We want to take advantage of the great facilities developed by Audi MedCup in order to provide a better service for our guests. I think that the elements available are extraordinary, and our goal is to make the most of them. I also think that the Public Village is a great idea to show the visitors the real excitement of this sport.”
Sailing program
The Notice of Race for the Audi MedCup Circuit 2010 says that there will be a maximum of 45 Windward/Leeward races for the GP42 Series. The Portugal Trophy, Cascais is the first event of the season, with the official training day scheduled for Wednesday, 12 May, with racing held Thursday 13 May, through Sunday 16 May. On that day we’ll know the name of the first event winner of the 2010 GP42 Series.
Luna Rossa and Quantum Racing First To Train in Spaing For Audi MedCup (Photo by© Carmen Hidalgo / Audi MedCup)
