RC44 Championship Tour, Dean Barker imbattuto nel match race
RC44Vela 23 Aprile 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=2332,300,204,,left]RC44 Championship Tour – Cagliari – Otto ore in mare, tra salti di vento, cambi di percorso, ingaggi e giri di boa all’arma bianca per capire che il più forte nel match race, almeno a Cagliari, teatro della Cagliari RC44 Cup, è Dean Barker.
Lo skipper di Artemis si è imposto nell’evento dedicato all’uno contro uno con un impressionante score di 9 vittorie e nessuna sconfitta, anticipando di 4 punti No Way Back di un arrembante Philippe Presti, Ceeref di Sebastien Col e BMW Oracle Racing di Larry Ellison. I primi due avrebbero finito a 6 punti, ma sono stati accomunati da una penalità rimediata in corso d’opera. Bene anche Team Aqua di Cameron Appleton, quinto con uno score di 4 vittorie e 5 sconfitte.
Tra il quinto e il sesto il solco è profondissimo: Puerto Calero Islas Canarias di José Juan Calero ha finito a 2 punti, alla pari con Team Organika e Team Sea Dubai. Fanalino di coda il debuttante Team Austria, non con un solo punto.
Domani si gira pagina: la battaglia si sposterà sulle regate di flotta, fulcro portante di ogni appuntamento dell’RC44 Championship Tour.
Cagliari RC44 Cup, match race, final results after 9 flights
1 – Artemis, Dean Barker, 9/0, 9 points
2 – No Way Back, Philippe Presti, 6/3, 1 penalty, 5 points
3 – Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 6/3, 1 penalty, 5 points
4 – BMW Oracle Racing, Larry Ellison, 5/4, 5 points
5 – Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 4/5, 4 points
6 – Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Juan Calero, 2/7, 2 points
7 – Team Organika, Karol Jablonski 2/7, 2 points
8 – Team Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser, 2/7, 2 points
9 – Team Austria, Christian Binder, 1/8, 1 point
DEAN BARKER AND ARTEMIS UNDEFEATED IN THE CAGLIARI RC44 MATCH RACE CONTEST
[RC44 Press Release] Showing great mastery of the tricky air conditions, and superb boat handling, Dean Barker and his crew on board Artemis have exploded out of the blocks, winning all of their matches and the overall ranking ahead of Philippe Presti and Sébastien Col.
Today will be remembered as the longest, and certainly one of the hardest match-racing days in the RC44 Championship Tour history. The racing started on schedule, under a blue sunshine and with a very light breeze. It finished eight hours later under a stunning red sky and with a lovely 10-12 knots breeze. Race Officer Peter Reggio had to postpone racing on several occasions, re-establishing the course according to the wind variations. Luckily it all finished well, with fantastic sailing conditions and great matches.
On great form, Dean Barker managed to win the first start – and match – of the day despite being dominated by Cameron Appleton’s Team Aqua in the pre-start. Reacting one second too late at the crucial moment, Appleton let his fellow citizen escape and win the race.
All other teams opposed to Barker and his “fab-seven” were to suffer the same fate later on in the day, succumbing to Barker’s aggressiveness, perfect positioning and great tactics. The best example was the match between Artemis and Ceeref. The Slovenian team, with Seb Col at the helm, was in the lead but Barker and his team kept pushing harder and harder until Ceeref made a first mistake, touching the windward mark, before getting a second “killing” penalty a few minutes later.
Also well inspired however unable to beat Artemis, Team Puerto Calero bravely tempted everything against Artemis during the fifth flight but could only humbly congratulate their opponent past the arrival line: there was nothing to do against this team today.
The racing became really interesting in the middle of the afternoon, once the breeze had established itself. At this stage, four teams were in a position to grab the second overall spot: Ceeref (Sébastien Col), No Way Back (Philippe Presti), Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton) and BMW Oracle Racing (Larry Ellison). As the day went by, the sailors’ muscles started to hurt and concentration and focus became the deciding factors for victory. Team Aqua, who was struggling to adapt to the new Class rule regarding bowsprit management – and its consequences on crew work – struggled in the end of the day and let the three others fight for the podium.
Both No Way Back and Ceeref had the best run, winning one more match then BMW Oracle Racing; they were however both penalised for a light touch against one of their opponents. As a consequence, they finished on a tie with the American team. Ceeref had beaten Oracle, who had beaten No Way Back, who had beaten Ceeref whilst the three teams had been beaten by Aqua… It took the Jury a while to listen to – and reject – Ceeref‘s request for redress, and announce that No Way Back was second overall, ahead of Ceeref and BMW Oracle Racing.
Many other extraordinary matches took place today. Team Austria won its first ever match race, against Puerto Calero. This is with no doubt only the start for this promising team. Team Sea Dubai also had its moment of glory, beating BMW Oracle Racing and Team Austria. As for the craziest match of the day, it was with no doubt the one between No Way Back and Organika; a fabulous fight that looked more like a boxing match than a regatta.
Organika, Team Sea Dubai and Puerto Calero also finished the day on a tie, illustrating how close racing is in the RC 44 Class.
Cagliari RC44 Cup, match race, final results after 9 flights
1 – Artemis, Dean Barker, 9/0, 9 points
2 – No Way Back, Philippe Presti, 6/3, 1 penalty, 5 points
3 – Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 6/3, 1 penalty, 5 points
4 – BMW Oracle Racing, Larry Ellison, 5/4, 5 points
5 – Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 4/5, 4 points
6 – Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Juan Calero, 2/7, 2 points
7 – Team Organika, Karol Jablonski 2/7, 2 points
8 – Team Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser, 2/7, 2 points
9 – Team Austria, Christian Binder, 1/8, 1 point
No comments so far.
Be first to leave comment below.