05.04.2009
PUMA second in Rio In Port race
April 4, 2009 – The PUMA Ocean Racing team finished today’s in port race
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in second place. In an incredibly close contest
during which the lead changed several times, the PUMA team finished just
seconds behind Telefonica Blue. Sailing in eight to 12 knots of breeze,
with significant wind shifts on different sides of the course, PUMA made a
number of excellent tactical calls to finish second ahead of Delta Lloyd
and Ericsson 4, winning 3.5 points. PUMA has finished all four in port
races to date on the podium, and today’s result in Brazil consolidates
PUMA’s second place overall on the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 leaderboard.
Crowds of spectator craft lined Guanabara Bay to watch the seven Volvo
Open 70 race boats as they tore around the tiny 1.6 mile long course.
Racing was initially postponed to wait for the sea breeze to fill in, and
after a well-executed start, the PUMA team led at the first mark. Prior to
the racing, PUMA, along with several other teams, had their weather gurus
positioned on top of Sugarloaf Mountain. From this fantastic vantage
point, they could feed the sailing team detailed information about how the
wind was filling in, in order to plan their tactical options for the race
ahead.
Skipper Ken Read (USA) commented: “Today’s race was fluky, there was a lot
of current, it was a hard, hard, hard day. Rob Greenhalgh (GBR) did a
really great job on tactics. He made a couple of key calls and was spot on
with what he said. He had a great day.”
“We pre-planned our start on port tack, different to everyone else, and
our duck to the right hand side of the first beat. We were comfortable
with that decision and we were first at the weather mark. Today was the
type of day in which you could easily come in last. It was hard. The runs
were very long because there was a lot of current going against the boats.
The current was filling the breeze upwind because we were going with it
and was dropping the breeze on the downwind legs, so that’s why you saw a
lot of passing downwind. In the end, it took one little breeze line that
Telefonica Blue had, that we didn’t, to make all the difference. We’ll
take second; but one day, we won’t be the bridesmaids, we’ll be wearing
the white dress!”
The Volvo Ocean Race is made up of ten legs, finishing in June 2009 in St.
Petersburg, Russia. By joining the race, PUMA has entered a new premium
category and is the only Sportlifestyle company to participate in the
Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. For more information about the race, team and
the PUMA Sailing collections, please visit www.pumaoceanracing.com
Alongside PUMA’s entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, PUMA has launched a full
range of marine clothing and apparel, from offshore sailing gear to
onshore lifestyle fashion. The PUMA Sailing Performance collection was
developed and tested by the PUMA Ocean Racing team itself, and is worn by
the team throughout the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. The PUMA Sailing
Lifestyle collection takes inspiration from the sport.
For more information on Puma Ocean Racing, please contact:
Bridgid Murphy or Kate Fairclough - PUMA Ocean Racing
Tel: +1 978 996 5155 or +44 7827 277 517
Tel: +55 21 8273 7840 or +55 21 8197 4509 in Rio
bridgid.murphy@puma.com or kate.fairclough@puma.com
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