[singlepic id=1052 w=300 h=204 float=left]RC44 Championship Tour – Portorose – Iniziano ad entrare nel vivo i preparativi che condurranno, verso la fine di settembre, allo svolgimento della Portoroz Cup, quinta frazione dell’RC44 Championship Tour.
E’ la terza volta che la cittadina slovena ospita la flotta RC44 – era già avvenuto nel 2006 e 2007 – e in questa occasione a sponsorizzare l’evento, organizzato direttamente dalla Federazione Vela Slovena, sarà Bank Sarasin.
“Non vediamo l’ora di tornare in acqua – ha commentato Chris Bake, armatore di Team Aqua, leader del circuito anche se con soli due punti di vantaggio su Artemis – Sul Garda ci siamo davvero divertiti e l’ultima giornata è stata davvero impegnativa. In Slovenia non sarà facile, ma so che il mio team è pronto per difendere il primato”.
Al via, tra i 10 iscritti, ci sarà anche un nuovo team, Katusha. Una compagine russa, guidata da Paul Cayard.
La manifestazione si aprirà il 28 settembre con lo svolgimento delle regate di prova. Dal 29 al 30, invece, sarà il momento dei match race, cui seguiranno le prove di flotta.
L’appuntamento slovemo sarà l’ultimo convenzionale. La flotta, infatti, si trasferirà a Dubai, per l’ultimo confronto stagionale che attribuirà punti doppi.
RC44 Portoroz Cup
Team Aqua, Chris Bake-Cameron Appleton
Team Ceeref, Igor Lah-Sébastien Col
Sea Dubai, Yousef Lahej, DIMC-Markus Wieser
BMW Oracle Racing, Larry Ellison-Russell Coutts
Team Organika, Maciej Nawrocki-Karol Jablonski
Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, Jose Juan Calero-Jose Maria Ponce
Artemis, Torbjorn Tornqvist-Dean Barker
No Way Back, Pieter Heerema-Ray Davies
Team Austria, René Mangold-Christian Binder
Team Katusha, Paul Cayard
COUNTDOWN TO THE BANK SARASIN RC44 PORTOROZ CUP
[RC44 Press Release] Preparations in Portoroz on Slovenia’s narrow coastline are well under way for the fifth stage of the RC44 Championship Tour. Racing begins in one month and the local organisers as well as the Class management are getting ready for the Championship Tour’s autumn season.
It is the third time that Portoroz welcomes an RC44 regatta after the events held here in 2006 and 2007. Bank Sarasin is the title sponsor of the 2009 event being organised by the Slovenian Sailing Federation.
Leader of the Championship Tour, Chris Bake’s Team Aqua is only two points ahead of Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis. “We look forward to getting back on the water”, says Bake. “The last regatta on Lake Garda was a good challenge, and the last day was a great endorsement of the strength and depth of our Team; I was really proud to be a part of it. Portoroz will with no doubt be tough too. We plan to get out there, work hard and try and sail a consistent series.”
Currently third of the Championship Tour on a tie with Larry Ellison’s BMW Oracle Racing, Igor Lah (Ceeref) has been instrumental in bringing the regatta to Portoroz. “This is a very important regatta for our team, because it is the first time we will be sailing on Slovene waters”, he explains. ”We will have some more practice than usual prior to the regatta. Unfortunately we’ve had many crew changes this season, which had an effect on crew work. I believe it has stabilized now so we are able to stay with the same team for the rest of the season. We will try to do our best.”
The RC44 Class looks forward to welcoming a new team in Portoroz. Katusha will fly the Russian flag and will be skippered by Paul Cayard, who has already been involved in several events with the RC44 Class.
The Practice Race and media day will open the regatta on Monday September 28. The Bank Sarasin RC 44 Portoroz Cup will begin on Tuesday September 29 with the match racing event. The fleet regatta will take place from Thursday October 1 till Saturday 3.
Following a long summer break, the ten teams involved in the Championship Tour will be keen to get back to the water and compete in the last “conventional” regatta of the Tour before the double points Gold Cup in Dubai.
RC44 Portoroz Cup
Team Aqua, Chris Bake-Cameron Appleton
Team Ceeref, Igor Lah-Sébastien Col
Sea Dubai, Yousef Lahej, DIMC-Markus Wieser
BMW Oracle Racing, Larry Ellison-Russell Coutts
Team Organika, Maciej Nawrocki-Karol Jablonski
Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, Jose Juan Calero-Jose Maria Ponce
Artemis, Torbjorn Tornqvist-Dean Barker
No Way Back, Pieter Heerema-Ray Davies
Team Austria, René Mangold-Christian Binder
Team Katusha, Paul Cayard
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