Louis Vuitton Trophy, BMW Oracle Racing ci ha preso gusto
LV TrophyVela 15 Novembre 2010 Zerogradinord 0
Louis Vuitton Trophy – Dubai – Al Dubai International Marine Club gli shore team hanno lavorato tutta la notte per riportare in acqua NZL-84, rimasta danneggiata ieri in seguito allo speronamento subito da NZL-92 nel corso del match tra Emirates Team New Zealand e Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (i neozelandesi avevano centrato con il loro tangone la fiancata dei Mascalzoni).
Dopo aver atteso il vento fino alle 13.40, le 4 barche ACC hanno quindi iniziato i loro duelli quotidiani, che anche oggi non sono mancati di suspance e colpi di scena.
La nota dolente per i fans italiani è la sconfitta di Mascalzone Latino Audi Team inferta da Synergy, il forte team russo che in questo Louis Vuitton Trophy ha affidato il timone a Francesco Bruni. Per i Mascalzoni c’è il rammarico della rottura di una drizza del gennaker proprio nell’ultima poppa quando erano davanti agli avversari.
Oltre alla sfortuna, c’è però l’impressione che i Mascalzoni non stiano regatando ancora al cento per cento, ma stiano cercando il passo ottimale. “A bordo non c’è alcun problema – rassicura il randista Paul ‘Flipper’ Westlake – e siamo veramente fiduciosi di poter fare bene. Nelle ultime due regate, per motivi differenti, abbiamo dovuto inseguire e alla seconda boa di bolina in entrambi i casi siamo riusciti a ribaltare la situazione a nostro vantaggio. Ci motiva molto essere in svantaggio e poi nel momento critico superare l’avversario. Siamo quindi ottimisti che le cose cambieranno e i punti arriveranno. È solo il secondo giorno e il Round Robin è ancora molto lungo”. Domani per il Challenger of Record della 34ma Coppa America ci sarà il doppio duello contro All4One.
Chi continua la sua marcia senza concedere nulla è il detentore della Coppa America, BMW Oracle Racing con la coppia James Spithill e John Kostecki particolarmente ispirata. A rafforzare il pozzetto statunitense c’è anche Murray Jones, kiwi plurivittorioso dell’America’s Cup e da sempre elemento chiave nelle decisioni strategiche.
Solo i “padroni di casa” di Emirates Team New Zealand oggi hanno tenuto lo stesso passo degli americani, conquistando due punti contro i franco tedeschi di All4One, incappati in una serie negativa (finora nessun successo).
Classifica provvisoria
1. BMW Oracle Racing, 4-0, pt. 4
2. Emirates Team New Zealand, 3-1, pt. 2,5*
3. Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 2-1, pt. 2
4. Artemis, 1-3, pt. 1
5. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, 1-2, pt. 0**
5. All4One, 0-4, pt. 0
* -0,5 pt.
** -1 pt.
LOUIS VUITTON TROPHY, RUSSIANS AND KIWI COME FROM BEHIND
[Louis Vuitton Trophy Press Release] The Synergy Russian Sailing Team and Emirates Team New Zealand both featured in come-from-behind victories during close competition today at the Louis Vuitton Dubai.
Their efforts put the Kiwis and Russians second and third respectively in the standings after Day Two but it is James Spithill’s American team BMW Oracle Racing that enjoys first place with a perfect 4-0 score.
Weather played a role in curtailing racing, forcing the race committee to postpone one match until tomorrow.
The start of racing was delayed as the race committee waited for the sea breeze to fill in. One hour before the scheduled start at noon there was barely a breath of wind as the temperature hit 30 deg. C on its way to a forecast high of 32 deg.
Racing got under way an hour and a half later in a building northerly breeze. Later in the afternoon a gusty, dusty breeze off the desert heralded an easterly wind shift and briefly postponed competition before racing restarted in 15-knot northeaster.
The Synergy team, which narrowly missed winning the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena earlier this year, pulled out all the stops in their race against Mascalzone Latino Audi, the challenger-of-record for the 34th America’s Cup in 2013.
Synergy’s helmsman Francesco Bruni went for the jugular in the prestart, only to be penalized for hitting the safety wands on the stern of his opponent’s boat. Undaunted, he eked out a 120 metre lead by the top of the second windward leg and completed his penalty turn to round in company with Mascalzone.
Now the Italians led but only until their spinnaker parted company with its halyard and fell in the sea. Game set and match to the Russians.
“We had quite a mixed pre-start,” said Synergy tactician Rod Dawson, with masterful understatement. “Then we came off the start line with a small edge and capitalized on that. We extended up the beat and throughout the race. We were sailing really well.”
There were lead changes too in the contest between Emirates Team New Zealand and the French/German boat All4One. Dean Barker won the start only to surrender the lead half way up the first beat as his opponent Sebastien Col pulled off a risky port tack cross.
Closing the leeward mark, the Kiwis rolled their opponents and grabbed an inside overlap plus the lead at the mark, despite an untidy spinnaker drop that threatened to put the brakes on their advance.
“It was a tricky little race,” said Emirates Team New Zealand tactician Ray Davies. “It was a very difficult course with quite big wind shifts and the game was changing all the time. It looked straightforward but it wasn’t.”
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