RC44 Championship Tour, BMW Oracle Racing migliore dei sopravvissuti
MonotipiaRC44Vela 13 Giugno 2010 Zerogradinord 0
RC44 Championship Tour – Copehagen – Il vento e il freddo hanno avuto al meglio sui protagonisti dell’RC44 Copenhagen Cup. Nel corso delle quattro manche disputate oggi, infatti, tanti sono stati i team che hanno dovuto fare i conti con rotture e incidenti di vario genere.
Il primo a pagare pegno è stato Ceeref, finito contro Katusha durante un taking duel. Risultato? Due punti di penalizzazione per il primo, prua da cambiare per il secondo, cui è stata riconosciuta riparazione. Gli altri sono stati messi alle corde da straorzate, strapoggiate, vele rotte e gennaker esplosi. Team Sea Dubai, ad esempio, ha alternato un secondo e un primo a due DNF generati da problemi alle vele di prua e dalla caduta in acqua di un uomo dell’equipaggio, prontamente recuperato.
Ad avere la meglio è stato BMW Oracle Racing che questa mattina era solo quinto. L’avanzata del team di Larry Ellison non ha trovato ostacoli visto le alterne fortune dei diretti avversari. L’unico a tenere testa all’equipaggio statunitense è stato No Way Back che in occasione dell’ultima manche si è giocato il successo assoluto nell’ambito di quello che si è ben presto trasformato in un match race. Obbligati Pieter Heerema e Ray Davies a navigare sul lato sfavorito del campo, BMW Oracle Racing ha anticipato il campione uscente di due barche e ha fatto sua la serie di flotta dell’RC44 Copenhagen Cup.
Smmando questo risultato con il secondo posto ottenuto nel match race disputato nei giorni scorsi, BMW Oracle Racing ha messo le mani sul trofeo riservato al vincitore di tappa: un successo ottenuto a spese di Team Aqua che nell’uno conro uno aveva ben figurato.
La prossima tappa dell’RC44 Championship Tour è in programma a fine luglio a Valencia.
RC44 Copenhagen Cup, fleet series
1. BMW Oracle Racing, 8-6-2-4-1-2-4-3, pt. 30
2. Team No Way Back, 10-1-4-1-4-6-2-5, pt. 33
3. Artemis, 3-5-8-2-5-5-6-4, pt. 38
4. Team Aqua, 2-3-9-5-6-9-3-2, pt. 39
5. 17, 4-7-6-7-9-1-7-1, pt. 42
…
RC44 Copenhagen Cup
1. BMW Oracle Racing, 2-1, pt. 3
2. Team Aqua, 1-4, pt. 5
3. No Way Back, 4-2, pt. 6
4. Artemis, 3-3, pt. 6
5. 17, 5-5, pt. 10
…
Video courtesy RC44 Championship Tour.
RC44 CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR, THE GAME OF ELIMINATION BENEFITS BMW ORACLE RACING
[RC44 Championship Tour Press Release] The cold and windy conditions prevailed for the last day of the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup. Four beautiful races took place today; they led to the elimination of one team after the other from contention for the fleet race and overall titles.
Igor Lah’s Ceeref was the first and biggest casualty of the day, going from second overall to eight. “Just a day of hell”, summarised tactician Rod Davis. The team’s worse moment occurred when they collided with Paul Cayard’s Katusha during a tacking dual. Ceeref got two points penalty whilst Katusha had to stop racing in order to change their crash bow. They got redress from the Jury.
Many teams broached, ripped their spinnakers or suffered in a way or another. Team Sea Dubai, who got some brilliant results today – a 2nd and a 1st – lost it all because of two DNF’s due to a spinnaker problem and a man overboard during the last race; an incident that occurred as the team was controlling its third place overall against Artemis and that cost four places in the overall ranking!
The wind was blowing quite hard throughout the day, at 18 knots with gusts up to 25 that put great emphasis on crew work and tactical decisions.
BMW Oracle Racing, who was fifth overall this morning, started the day with a 1st and a 2nd. On the other hand, No Way Back couldn’t do any better than 4th and 6th. With both Team Aqua and Artemis failing to obtain consistent results, the final race would definitely be between those two teams.
Both of them started the last race at the pin end of the line, with BMW Oracle Racing controlling No Way Back. The American team reached the top mark ahead of its opponent, and chose the worse side of the course during the run, letting the Dutch team grab the lead within this personal race (John Kostecki’s 17 had a huge lead over the rest of the pack).
Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts then opted for the left of the course during the second beat whilst Pieter Heerema and Ray Davies went to the right. The American’s choice was the right one. The american team then controlled No Way Back until the arrival, crossing the line in third, two places ahead of its opponent.
Winner of the fleet regatta and second of the match race event earlier in the week, BMW Oracle Racing conquers the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup – the combined fleet / match race ranking ahead of Chris Bake’s Team Aqua.
The next regatta will take place in Valencia on July 27 – August 1.
RC44 Copenhagen Cup, fleet series
1. BMW Oracle Racing, 8-6-2-4-1-2-4-3, pt. 30
2. Team No Way Back, 10-1-4-1-4-6-2-5, pt. 33
3. Artemis, 3-5-8-2-5-5-6-4, pt. 38
4. Team Aqua, 2-3-9-5-6-9-3-2, pt. 39
5. 17, 4-7-6-7-9-1-7-1, pt. 42
…
RC44 Copenhagen Cup
1. BMW Oracle Racing, 2-1, pt. 3
2. Team Aqua, 1-4, pt. 5
3. No Way Back, 4-2, pt. 6
4. Artemis, 3-3, pt. 6
5. 17, 5-5, pt. 10
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