RC44 Championship Tour, Jablonski docet
RC44Vela 29 Settembre 2009 Zerogradinord 0
RC44 Championship Tour – Portorose – Vincendo tutti e 4 i match disputati, Team Organika ha chiuso in testa al suo gruppo il primo turno dell’evento di match race della Bank Sarasin RC44 Portoroz Cup, penultima tappa dell’RC44 Championship Tour. Oltre a garantirsi il passaggio del turno, l’equipaggio di Karol Jablonski si è cavato la soddisfazione di aver battuto tutti gli avversari più temibili, come Sebastién Col, impegnato su Team Ceeref, Cameron Appleton (Team Aqua) e Paul Cayard (Katusha).
Oltre ad Organika, in testa al gruppo Bravo – l’elevato numero di iscritti ha reso impossibile lo svolgimento di un Round Robin a ranghi completi – a mettersi in luce è stato anche l’equipaggio di Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, balzato al comando del gruppo Alpha con 3 successi. A seguire i leader sono rispettivamente il debuttante Katusha e No Way Back.
Le classifiche raccontano le difficoltà dei favoriti. Il leader del circuito Team Aqua è terzo nel suo gruppo, mentre Artemis e BMW Oracle Racing inseguono la coppia formata da Islas Canarias Puerto Calero e No Way Back.
Il programma di domani dipenderà molto dal vento. Se le condizioni dovessero essere favorevoli – oggi il vento era molto leggero – gli organizzatori contano di far disputare semifinali incrociate tra i migliori dei due gruppi, quindi le finali. Se la brezza dovesse confermarsi leggera, invece, si procederà subito con una finale al meglio delle 3 prove.
Group Alpha
1. Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Maria Ponce, 3-1, 3 points
2. No Way Back, Ray Davies, 3-1, 3 points
3. Artemis, Dean Barker, 2-2, 2 points
4. BMW Oracle Racing, Russell Coutts, 2-2, 2 points
5. Team Austria, Christian Binder, 0-4, 0 point
Group Bravo
1. Organika, Karol Jablonski 4-1, 4 points
2. Team Katusha, Paul Cayard, 3-2, 3 points
3. Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 3-2, 3 points
4. Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 2-3, 2 points
5. Team Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser, 2-3, 2 points
6. Modri Gaj, Gasper Vincec, 1-4, 1 point
[flashvideo filename=video/rc44/RC4409_Portorose_day1.flv /]
Video courtesy RC44.
MAJOR UPSETS ON DAY ONE OF THE BANK SARASIN RC44 PORTOROZ CUP
[RC44 Press Release] With four victories out of five races, Karol Jablonski and his team Organika look smart at the end of day one of the Bank Sarasin RC44 Portoroz Cup. Not only did they win more races than anyone else: they also managed to beat some of the best teams in the RC 4 Class, including Sébastien Col’s Ceeref, Cameron Appleton’s Team Aqua and Paul Cayard’s Katusha.
Also on great form today, Jose Maria Ponce (Islas Canarias Puerto Calero) managed to win three races and take the lead in his group ahead of No Way Back (Pieter Heerema and Ray Davies, who share helming duties).
The seven flights completed today took place in a light sea breeze. Due to the increasing number of boats involved in the Class, it is not possible anymore to complete a full round robin and the organisers have decided to split the fleet in two, with five boats in Group Alpha and six in group Bravo. Puerto Calero leads the first one ahead of No Way Back whilst Organika is on top of the other ahead of Katusha.
Tomorrow’s format will depend on the wind conditions, which are forecast light by PredictWind. If this proves right, a best of three series will determine the winners whilst a more complex system will be used if the conditions are good. In the latter case, the first and second of each groups will sail against each other before competing in conventional semi-finals and final.
Whilst some new teams made it to the top of the provisional match race ranking today, others logically didn’t obtain the results they expected. Slightly rusty, Team Aqua started the day with two premature starts, loosing precious points against Organika and Katusha. Usually dominant, Dean Barker and his Team Artemis suffered two losses against No Way Back and Islas Canarias Puerto Calero, ending up third in its group. With two victories out of four races, Russell Coutts’ BMW Oracle Racing isn’t looking as good as he would like to either, currently in the fourth place of Group Alpha.
Two teams made their debuts in the RC 44 Class today. Paul Cayard and his team Katusha showed a strong performance, finishing second of their group despite sailing on a brand new boat, with a new group and having only had five days to practice. Modri Gaj, the new local team didn’t have such a good day. With Gasper Vincec at the helm, the Slovenian team had a moment of glory when they beat Organika in a very clean race; an achievement that will give them some good memories after a disastrous first race that saw them miss the entry, incur two penalties before the start, round the wrong windward mark and miss the arrival line. As the RC 44 co-designer and crewmember onboard Modri Gaj Andrej Justin summarised after the regatta: “Match racing can be tough!”
Group Alpha
1. Puerto Calero Islas Canarias, José Maria Ponce, 3-1, 3 points
2. No Way Back, Ray Davies, 3-1, 3 points
3. Artemis, Dean Barker, 2-2, 2 points
4. BMW Oracle Racing, Russell Coutts, 2-2, 2 points
5. Team Austria, Christian Binder, 0-4, 0 point
Group Bravo
1. Organika, Karol Jablonski 4-1, 4 points
2. Team Katusha, Paul Cayard, 3-2, 3 points
3. Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 3-2, 3 points
4. Ceeref, Sébastien Col, 2-3, 2 points
5. Team Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser, 2-3, 2 points
6. Modri Gaj, Gasper Vincec, 1-4, 1 point
No comments so far.
Be first to leave comment below.