Ein zweiter Platz auf der
letzten Etappe, die am Sonnabend in Göteborg/Schweden gestartet worden
war, reichte am Ende gegen die „Assa Abloy“, die mit deutlichem Abstand
Dritte wurde.
Der Etappensieg ging überraschend an die norwegische „djuice
“. Zum ersten Mal in der Geschichte der härtesten Segelregatta einmal um
die Welt hat damit ein deutschen Schiff diesen Hochseeklassiker gewonnen.
Das gesamte illbruck Challenge-Team um Chef Michael Illbruck und Skipper
John Kostecki mit dem Münchener Vorschiffsmann Tony Kolb als einzigem
Deutschen im Rennen genoss den grenzenlos überschäumenden Jubel in vollen
Zügen.
Kiel, Sweden, June 9th, 2002
John Kostecki, skipper illbruck, winner of the Volvo Ocean Race 2001-2002
Q: Congratulations, you’ve won the Volvo Ocean Race, how does it feel? A: It feels great, it was our goal to win and we went out and did it! It’s good.
Q: When did you know that had won? A: Not until just before the finish line. We sailed a fantastic leg, we
had a great start, we sailed hard through the start and went fast. We got
behind, were able to sail pass. It was just fantastic, we sailed a great
short leg for once, and we’re pretty happy about that!
Q: Before the leg you knew everything rested on it... A: That’s the race I suppose, so we knew what we were up to, we had it
front of us, we prepared and we dealt with it. The whole crew really did a
great job.
Q: What was the spectator fleet like? A: Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable. There were hundreds and hundreds
of people, it is hard to describe, but tell anyone who wasn’t here that it
was unbelievable, the amount of people who were out there, the amount of
support we had was just great.
Q: German boat arriving into Germany and winning the race... A: It was fantastic, it was a great finish today, into Kiel, so obviously we’re very happy.
Q: Did you ever doubt that you would do it? A: Not really, no! We sailed really well out of Gothenburg, we really
worked hard and we were fast over the start line. Everything clicked about
this leg, it was great.
Q: There must have been a few nervous moments? A: We certainly were nervous, but that’s part of the race. It’s good to
have a little nervous energy sometimes to move you along.
Q: Looking back at the race overall, how was it? A: It was great, we prepared ourselves for it, we worked hard and we’re
very pleased to have won.
Q: To the future, are you looking to do it again? A: Possibly, it depends on the format, if it is a good course and
depending on the boats, I would consider it.
Contact in Kiel Media Centre:
Mark Howell, Media Director, tel: +44 7818 408 568
Lizzie Green, Race Press Officer tel: +44 7801 185 320
Southampton, England, June 9, 2002 1700 GMT
Illbruck Victorious in Volvo Ocean Race
An ocean race of epic proportions reached its final conclusion today,
after 32,700 miles of racing. Winners, losers, glory and defeat, this
race has seen it all. A script for an ending such as this could not have
been written better. Djuice, the boat that struggled all the way around
the planet claimed victory in the leg while illbruck took the race in a
convincing manner.
Starting a race as the clear favourite was a heavy burden, but illbruck
lived up to the highest expectations right from the start. With a
conservative approach illbruck took the early lead in the race even though
disaster struck on the first day of leg two as the bow section filled with
water and for some dramatic hours it was unclear whether the yacht was in
danger of sinking. In an impressive team effort the crew around John
Kostecki got the yacht going again in last place, but it took them just a
few days to sail straight through the whole fleet on a middle course to
reclaim dominance on the fleet. They were rewarded with a spectacular
victory in Sydney end never returned the lead on the overall table.
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