iSheras Cup – Kiel – Tutto pronto a Kiel per lo svolgimento della quarta tappa dell’iShares Cup, circuito ad alte prestazioni riservato agli Extreme 40, catamarani ultra leggeri e capaci di spunti notevoli. Al via, nelle acque tedesche, ci saranno tutti e 10 i team che sino ad ora hanno incrociato almeno una volta tra le boe dell’evento, più una new entry.
“Non vedo l’ora che la battaglia abbia inizio – ha spiegato Mike Golding, timoniere di Ecover – Il campo di regata è stupendo: le regate saranno molto veloci grazie all’arrivo di una perturbazione che determinerà l’aumento della brezza”.
Condizioni che non piaceranno certo a Wirsol Team Germany Kiel, al debutto sull’Extreme 40, entrato nelle disponibilità dell’armatore solo due settimane fa. L’approccio del team teutonico è tale che ieri, nel corso di una regata di allenamento, ha speronato violentemente il cat Luna, uscito dall’incontro con le ossa rotte: “La collisione è stata davvero dura – ha spiegato Philippe Mourniac di Luna – Abbiamo dovuto alare la barca e lavorare tutta la notte per porre rimedio alle conseguenze del sinistro. Ora tutto sembra essere a posto”.
La frazione, oltre a segnare il ritorno del campionissimo Mitch Booth a bordo di Holmatro, servirà per fare chiarezza in classifica generale: Oman Sail Masirah e Gitana Extreme sono separati da un solo punto quando il circuito ha sorpassato la boa di metà stagione.
“Aiamo avanti di un punto – ha commentato Yann Guichard di Gitana Extreme – Un vantaggio che ci impedisce di fare pre tattica, specie in considerazione del fatto che qui a Kiel si annunciano condizioni davvero impegnative”.
“Tutti ci chiedono quale sia la chiave del nostro successo – ha affermato Pete Cumming di Masirah – In effetti in acqua ci sono velisti molto più esperti di noi. Credo quindi che il tanto lavoro svolto abbia dato, e stia dando, i suoi frutti”.
Le regate cominceranno domani alle 14.30.
iSahres Cup
1. Oman Sail Masirah, P.Cumming, 27 pt.
2. Gitana Extreme, Y.Guichard, 26 pt.
3. Oman Sail Renaissance, L.Peyron, 24 pt.
4. BMW Oracle Racing, J.Spithill, 18 pt
5. BT, N.Moloney, 17 pt.
seguono 5 scafi
ISHARES CUP, SKIPPERS READY FOR ROUND 4
[iShares Cup Press Release] The 10 teams competing in the fourth event of the 2009 iShares Cup are ready for three days of fiercely contested Extreme 40 racing, which kicks off tomorrow, August 28th. With just one point separating the top two boats on the overall leaderboard, and some changeable conditions forecast, Kiel looks set for another exciting showdown between these legendary sailors.
“I’m looking forward to this weekend – commented Ecover skipper Mike Golding – Kiel is a great location, the racing will be fast and furious, and the conditions are expected to build over the weekend. We’ve had some good training this week, the mark roundings need to be clean and quick and we’ve focused a lot on this. I hope that we will see some improvements over this weekend and that we can close the gap on the teams ahead of us. It has the potential to be one of the best race courses so far!”.
All the teams have been training as hard as possible – new entry Wirsol Team Germany Kiel.Sailing City have been sailing their Extreme 40 solidly for the past two weeks, while others have been setting up practice races. The teams are racing so seriously that yesterday there was even a collision in training, with Luna sustaining damage, although they will be back racing today.
“We experienced a really bad crash yesterday. We had to lift the boat out of the water and our shore team worked all afternoon and all night long to make sure that the boat is ready for tomorrow! We should be back on the water this afternoon and will make sure that everything is ok,” explained Luna crew Philippe Mourniac.
Huge crowds of up to 100,000 spectators are expected to watch 40 World Champions, Olympic medalists, America’s Cup heroes and round the world record-breakers fight it out. “Thanks again to the city of Kiel for welcoming us back again this year. It was an absolutely phenomenal event last year and we are expecting as many spectators as last year. Hearing the crowd cheer is amazing and encourages us to provide the best competition and spectacle,” commented BT skipper Nick Moloney.
At the front of the fleet all eyes will be on Oman Sail Masirah and Gitana Extreme-Groupe LCF Rothschild, with just one point separating the two teams overall at the halfway point in the 2009 iShares Cup.
“We are just one point off the lead but we have no particular strategy for Kiel,” said Gitana skipper Yann Guichard. “This event should be really windy and gusty, we will do our best to sail well but there’s nine other good teams, all really full on and nobody will let the victory go!”
Pete Cumming, skipper of Masirah, added: “When we look at the skipper and crew line up, we could think that our team is a lot less experienced. But we keep the same team since last year, we trained a lot and I think it’s the key to our success for now.”
A familiar face returns to the helm of Holmatro, where Extreme 40 class founder Mitch Booth takes over the reins. He got off to a great start by taking today’s first practice race win. “It’s good to be back full-time in the circuit and specially with Holmatro as it’s my original team,” he said. “It’s like coming back to the family. We are all good friends, we used to sail together and it’s always good fun.” Darren Bundock also returns to the helm of BT, having recovered from injury which saw him step aside earlier this season.
Racing begins tomorrow at 2.30pm, with up to eight races scheduled every afternoon and can be watched from the Kiellinie shoreline.
iSahres Cup
1. Oman Sail Masirah, P.Cumming, 27 pt.
2. Gitana Extreme, Y.Guichard, 26 pt.
3. Oman Sail Renaissance, L.Peyron, 24 pt.
4. BMW Oracle Racing, J.Spithill, 18 pt
5. BT, N.Moloney, 17 pt.
followed by 5 crews
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