The 1851 Cup, BMW Oracle Racing e Team Origin pronti al duello
Oracle Team USATeam OriginVela 2 Agosto 2010 Zerogradinord 0
The 1851 Cup – Cowes – Ancora poche ore e due dei migliori talenti della vela internazionale si affronteranno in un uno contro uno a bordo di due ACC Versione 5 e lo faranno in un luogo simbolo per la vela internazionale. Saranno imfatti le acque del Solent ad ospitare lo svolgimento della The 1851 Cup, evento che vedrà contrapposti BMW Oracle Racing e Team Origin. Un duello che tradisce ricordi di America’s Cup, e he pone sotto i riflettori James Spithill e Ben Ainslie.
I due skipper saranno con i rispettivi equipaggi a bordo degli scafi di proprietà di BMW Oracle Racing. Oltre alla Coppa America, gli statunitensi hanno portato a Cowes USA-87 e USA-98, prestando agli inglesi la più vecchia delle due per prepararsi in vista della manifestazione.
“Siamo molto simili – ha commentato James Spithill – Lui vuole vincere ed è la stessa cosa che voglio io. Siamo appassionati sul lavoro. Il rispetto è davvero tanto”.
I match inizieranno domani pomeriggio. Il programma prevede lo svolgimento di tre regate. Il momento clou della manifestazione è previsto per giovedi quando il Comitato Organizzatore impegnerà gli equipaggi lungo il periplo dell’isola di Wight, ripercorrendo la stesa rotta che nel 1851 diede inizio alla saga dell’America’s Cup.
Grazie all’accordo con Sail TV Zerogradinord.it trasmetterà le regate in diretta a partire dalle 14.30 di domani. Il player sarà come al solito piazzato sotto la testata.
THE 1851 CUP, BMW ORACLE RACING WILL FACE TEAM ORIGIN
[BMW Oracle Racing Press Release] Two of sailing’s youngest, most talented skippers – Jimmy Spithill and Ben Ainslie – square off this week in The 1851 Cup, a one-off match racing regatta between America’s Cup winner BMW Oracle Racing and Team Origin of the U.K.
While the two teams race each other on the Solent, the public will have an opportunity to view the America’s Cup. The trophy will be on display daily beginning at 10:00 am until early evening. Australian Jimmy Spithill, aged 30 last February, became the youngest skipper to win the “Auld Mug” when he led BMW Oracle Racing to victory in the 33rd America’s Cup Match. Now 31, Spithill also has won the Melges 24 World Championship and Match Racing World Championship, both in 2005. In honor of the success, he was selected the Australian Yachtsman of the Year (2005-06).
Team Origin’s Ben Ainslie, 33, is a triple Olympic gold medalist and has been named ISAF World Sailor of the Year an equal number of times. Both helmsmen are highly skilled and diverse. Spithill won the America’s Cup aboard the 90-foot trimaran USA, which featured a towering wing mast 223 feet (68m) tall, and his world championships have come in fleet and match racing disciplines.
The two helmsmen were once teammates in the OneWorld America’s Cup Challenge from 2003, but haven’t raced each other much over the past few years.
Although the 1851 Cup is more of an international friendly than test match, it features two teams that could cross each other’s paths frequently over the coming years.
“We’re pretty similar,” said Spithill. “He wants to win as much as I do, which is saying something. We’re both very intense about our work. I certainly have huge respect for him.”
BMW Oracle Racing has lent one of its two V5 America’s Cup Class sloops, USA-87, to Team Origin for the competition.
Joining Spithill aboard USA-98 are teammates Rodney Daniel (runners), Dirk de Ridder (mainsheet), Shannon Falcone (mast), Ross Halcrow (upwind trimmer), Murray Jones (traveler), John Kostecki (tactician), Jono MacBeth (grinder), Brian MacInnes (grinder), Matt Mason (pit), Ian Moore (navigator), Joe Newton (downwind trimmer), Gillo Nobili (grinder), Joe Spooner (grinder), Simeon Tienpont (grinder), Piet van Nieuwenhuyzen (bow) and Brad Webb (mid-bow).
Racing begins tomorrow afternoon with three races planned on the Solent. The first warning signal isn’t expected before 3:30 pm BST. The highlight of the regatta is Thursday’s race around the Isle of Wight, retracing the famous 53-nautical-mile course of 1851 that created the legend that is the America’s Cup.
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