Volvo Ocean Race, Ericsson 4 allunga il passo
Equipo TelefonicaEricsson RacingGreen Dragon RacingOceanoPuma Ocean RacingVelaVolvo Ocean Race 9 Febbraio 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=1697,250,170,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Qingdao – Dopo due rinvii, causati della mancanza di vento e della scarsa visibilità, si sono finalmente svolte, nelle acque di Qingdao, le In-Port Race valide ai fini della Volvo Ocean Race. Due le prove disputate oggi, caratterizzate da vento debole e instabile.
Nel primo match si è imposto fin dall’inizio Ericsson 4, che ha anticipato sul traguardo Ian Walker a bordo di Green Dragon. Il Mostro, invece, non è stato in grado di riemergere dalle retrovie per tutta la regata e si è classificato terzo davanti a Telefonica Blue, vittima di un salto di vento.
Nella partenza della seconda prova Ericsson 4 riesce a spingere fuori dalla linea Il Mostro che, costretto a rientare, perde fin dall’inizio preziose posizioni. Eliminata l’incognita Ken Read, si è accesa una battaglia a due tra Ericsson 4 e Telefonica Blue. A spuntarla è il secondo, allungatosi sullo scafo di Torbe Grael in vista del traguardo. Terzo Il Mostro seguito in quarta posizione da un deludente Green Dragon.
La classifica generale di queste In-Port Race vede in prima posizione Ericsson 4 con 4 punti, seguito a breve distanza da Telefonica Blue con 3,5 punti. Terzo Il Mostro e quarto Green Dragon con, rispettivamente, 3 e 2,5 punti.
Le prossime In-Port Race si svolgeranno a Rio de Jaineiro, in Brasile, meta della quinta tappa della Volvo Ocean Race (12.300 miglia nautiche), con partenza fissata per sabato 14 febbraio a ranghi ridottissimi.
In-Port Race Qingdao
1 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) pt. 4
2 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) pt. 3.5
3 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) pt. 3
4 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) pt. 2.5
Classifica dopo quattro tappe
1 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) pt. 49
2 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) pt. 45
3 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) pt. 41
4 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) pt. 30
5 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) pt. 24
6 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) pt. 21
7 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) pt. 12
8 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) pt. 10.5
ERICSSON 4 EXTENDS LEAD IN VOLVO OCEAN RACE
[Volvo Ocean Race Press Release] Even in the light and shifty breeze off Qingdao in China today, it was all on for the four Volvo Open 70s as they raced in the third of the in-port race series of the Volvo Ocean Race. Today’s racing was an exciting blend of lead changes and close match racing, with Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) finally topping the leaderboard after two races.
After a two-day delay due to lack of wind and poor visibility, race one finally got underway after a short postponement. It was Telefónica Blue (Iker Martinez/ESP/Bouwe Bekking/NED) and Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR), both flying jibs, who crossed the start line first with PUMA (Ken Read/USA) and Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) setting code zero sails, crossing on port tack – a move that ultimately paid off for Torben Grael, who was the ultimate victor in this race.
At the first mid-course gate, Ericsson 4 had the advantage over Telefónica Blue who, on port tack, had to cross astern of Ericsson 4. PUMA struggled with speed with the code zero and never really recovered from their second row start.
At the first windward mark, it was Ericsson 4 from Telefónica Blue, Green Dragon and PUMA. Telefónica Blue managed to close the gap to the leeward mark, but a slow mark-rounding allowed Ericsson 4 to rebuild her lead.
Ericsson 4 took the lead at the second gate, but a great recovery from Green Dragon changed everything as they challenged Ericsson 4 from their central position in the course, reducing the deficit to just one boat length in the shifting light breeze, a gain of around three minutes.
Meanwhile, Telefónica Blue, with Beijing Olympic silver medallist Iker Martinez in charge, split from the pack and took the left hand option after the gate, a move that initially brought them closer to the pack, but the windshifts did not work in their favour.
At the second windward mark, Green Dragon had gone from a very solid third place to the lead, but immediately after the mark rounding, Ericsson 4 rolled over the top of them and regained the lead.
The race split into two separate match races in the final run to the finish. Ericsson 4 versus Green Dragon for first and second place and, a long way back, PUMA versus Telefónica Blue.
At the final mid-leg gate, Green Dragon held the lead in a slow, but thrilling climax to this in-port race which was in the hands of two of the world’s best match racers, Torben Grael and Ian Walker.
As the wind dropped in the final approach to the mark, Green Dragon gybed, dropped her spinnaker and hoisted a code zero sail, but it was Ericsson 4 who crossed the finish first, 37 seconds ahead.
In third place, PUMA finished 11 seconds ahead of Telefónica Blue, a disappointing position for Bouwe Bekking who, after winning leg four, was hoping to close the gap to overall leader Ericsson 4.
It was all change for race two, where speed off the start line was key on a course that was much shorter than that of race one.
Ericsson 4 pushed PUMA over the line at the start, but it was a great start for Telefónica Blue, and a port tack start for Green Dragon was just what Ian Walker wanted. Ericsson 4 came off the line with better pace than Telefónica Blue who had the stronger position.
At the first gate, Ericsson 4 and Telefónica Blue were in a dead heat, neither boat having the advantage. Green Dragon was a full 37 seconds behind, but in the remaining part of the leg Green Dragon made up lots of ground and crossed ahead of Ericsson 4.
However, at the windward mark, it was all change again as Telefónica Blue had the advantage and rounded first, followed by Green Dragon, with Ericsson 4 putting the pressure on, and PUMA trailing.
On the second beat, Telefónica Blue had nearly a half leg advantage, and after a fourth place in race one, it was critical that Telefónica Blue could finish race two within the time 90-minute time limit in order for her score to count.
On the final beat, Telefónica Blue held on to her lead to win the race comfortably, but, further back, the chasing pack struggled to lay the finish line. Ericsson 4 eventually took second place, which was good enough for a win overall in today’s series, PUMA moved up to third and it was disappointment for Green Dragon who finished fourth after such a good result in the first race. A tiebreak between Green Dragon and PUMA favoured PUMA as the rules required the results from the second race to be used in this situation.
The next race in the in-port series will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 4 April after the finish of leg five (12,300 nautical miles), which starts next Saturday, 14 February.
In-Port Race Qingdao
1 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) pt. 4
2 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) pt. 3.5
3 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) pt. 3
4 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) pt. 2.5
Ranking after four legs
1 – Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) pt. 49
2 – Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) pt. 45
3 – Puma Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) pt. 41
4 – Green Dragon IRL/CHN (Ian Walker/GBR) pt. 30
5 – Ericsson 3 SWE (Anders Lewander/SWE) pt. 24
6 – Telefónica Black ESP (Fernando Echávarri/ESP) pt. 21
7 – Team Delta Lloyd IRL (Roberto Bermudez/ESP) pt. 12
8 – Team Russia RUS (Andreas Hanakamp/AUT) pt. 10.5
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