Marsiglia International Match Race, supremazia Cian
Match RaceVelaWorld Match Race Tour 13 Marzo 2009 Zerogradinord 0
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Marsiglia International Match Race – Marsiglia – Dimostrando grande dimistichezza con le condizioni di vento leggero che hanno caratterizzato la seconda giornata del Marsiglia International Match Race – ieri non si era regatato a causa del forte vento di Mistral che già dal primo mattino aveva spazzato il tratto di mare antistante la città francese – Paolo Cian ha dominato la scena, vincendo tutti i 7 match in cui è stato impegnato.
“E’ stata una grande giornata, una di quelle dove tutto va bene – ha spiegato un modesto Cian – Ci siamo sentiti subito a nostro agio a bordo dei J-80 forniti dall’organizzazione e oltre ad essere particolarmente veloci, siamo riusciti a soddisfare ogni richiesta del nostro tattico”.
Nell’assistere a una partenza del genere, non può non venire in mente il successo ottenuto da Cian nella Brasil Sailing Cup, prima tappa del World Match Racing Tour dello scorso anno: “Quella di oggi era solo la prima giornata. Il nostro obiettivo era di arrivare ai quarti di finale: con 7 vittorie credo che questo sia ormai un risultato acquisito. Non possiamo che essere soddisfatti”.
Contrariamente a Cian, il suo avversario nella finale carioca, Bjorn Hansen, ha vissuto una prima giornata decisamente travagliata. Lo skipper svedese ha vinto un solo match e ne ha persi 5: “Non regatavo da novembre ed è normale mi sentissi un pò arrugginito. In tutte le cose bisogna sempre trovare un l’aspetto positivo e oggi abbiamo sicuramente imparato molto. Per domani speriamo in un cambio di passo: del resto i quarti sono ancora raggiungibili”.
Buon avvio anche per Ed Baird, al rientro nel circuito dopo anni di assenza sotto i colori di Alinghi: “Non possiamo certo lamentarci della giornata odierna. Abbiamo chiuso con un score di 3 vittorie e nessuna sconfitta e devo amettere che la fortuna è stata dalla nostra. Con le condizioni odierne, infatti, tutto poteva davvero accadere. Baasti pensare che in due dei tre match disputati eravamo dietro e siamo riusciti a rientrare”.
Sebastien Col (K-Challenge) e Mathieu Richard (French Spirit), dati tra i favoriti della vigilia, hanno iniziato la loro stagione in modo sostanzialmente diverso. Il primo ha fatto segnare un bilancio alla pari (2 vittorie e 2 sconfitte), il secondo, invece, è andato meglio e ha chiuso la giornata con 4 vittorie e 2 sconfitte.
Zoppicante anche l’avvio di Ian Williams. Il due volte campione del mondo ha disputato 5 duelli, vincendone solo 2. Niente è compromesso, l’importante è trovare l’immediato riscatto.
Marsiglia International Match Race, results
Paolo Cian (ITA), Team Shosholoza, 7-0
Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Match Racing Team/French Spirit, 4-2
Ed Baird (USA), Alinghi, 3-0
Philippe Presti (FRA), French Match Racing Team/French Spirit, 3-2
Pierre Antoine Morvan (FRA), French Match Racing Team, 2-2
Sebastien Col (FRA), French Match Racing Team, 2-2
Adam Minoprio (NZL), ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing Team, 2-3
Ian Williams (GBR), Bahrain Team Pindar, 2-3
Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team, 2-3
Damien Iehl (FRA), French Match Racing Team, 1-4
Ian Ainslie (RSA), Team Proximo, 1-4
Bjorn Hansen (SWE), Team Onboard, 1-5
Per visitare il sito dell’evento clicca qui.
MARSEILLE INTERNATIONAL MATCH RACE, TOO MUCH WIND IN MARSEILLE
Marseille International Match Race – Marseille – Showing great mastery of the light air conditions of the day, Paolo Cian (ITA) and his Team Shosholoza have exploded out of the blocks, winning all of their seven matches in the first day of racing in Stage One of the Marseille International Match Race. Nine flights remain in Round Robin action of Stage One for the 12 teams assembled for this first event on the 2009 World Match Racing Tour.
“We had a very good day, one of those days in which everything comes together well,” said a modest Cian. “We were confident in our boat handling, so I was able to get off the starts my tactician wanted, and our speed was fine.”
Cian won the first event of last year’s Tour, the Brasil Sailing Cup, but makes no predictions for this first event of this year: “This was only the first day. Our goal for this stage was to just get to the Quarter-Finals, so with seven wins I think we’ve achieved that now.”
In contrast, his rival in the Finals of the Brasil Sailing Cup, Bjorn Hansen (SWE) and his Team Onboard, had a very tough 1-5 day. Hansen said “I haven’t sailed since November, so we felt pretty rusty today. But we’re taking lessons from today and will look at tomorrow with a clean start and still have a chance to make the Quarter Finals.”
Ed Baird (USA) and his Alinghi team, making his return to the Tour after a several year hiatus, said was he was “Fortunate for having come away with 3-0 score. Today was so light that anything could happen, and no lead seemed very safe. Sebastian [Col] nearly ran us down at the finish of our first match, and we were behind ourselves in the other two.”
Col and his French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge, a local favourite being native to Marseille and 1st in the ISAF rankings, had a decidedly mediocre day on a 2-2 score, while the other French Tour Card holder, Mathieu Richard and his French Match Racing Team/French Spirit, faired better on a 4-2 record. Richard currently leads the pack of five French teams in the field here, and was not shy at admitting to wanting to see an all-French Final.
“It would be great for the event and really generate a lot of publicity for match racing here in France,” he said. That said, Philippe Presti (FRA) pointed out that it was not he nor any other French skipper that was being begged for autographs by a large group of French school children touring the host YC Pointe Rouge facilities onshore and out on the race course today cheering on the teams.
“The one they all wanted was Torvar,” laughed Presti. At only 22, Mirsky (AUS), is the youngest skipper on the Tour, and though ranked 5th in the ISAF ranking list and having thereby earned his Tour Card for the year, his day ended with a mediocre 2-3 record as well.
The other young antipodean Tour Card holder, 23-year old Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing Team, has the same score as Mirsky, but this may have been different if he had won his match against Cian. In a close-fought battle in which Minoprio held a slight lead going into the leeward mark, he appeared to be the first victim on the Tour of a slightly new twist in the new Racing Rules of Sailing which went into effect for this year through 2012.
When approaching the leeward mark, Minoprio was ahead of Cian, who was just overlapped to the outside. Minoprio’s favored inside position entitled him to “mark-room” when “approaching the mark” as specified in the wording of the rules governing right-of-way while rounding marks. However, in the spinnaker takedown maneuver while rounding, Minoprio’s team made minor contact with Cian’s boat, prompting the Kiwi team to protest.
However, instead of flying a yellow flag to penalize Cian for not giving Minoprio sufficient mark-room to the outside, the match umpires deemed the two to three metre gap between the Kiwis and the mark on the inside as being too much in the light conditions, and flew a blue flag instead to penalize Minoprio.
To visit the event website click here.
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