Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix Rotterdam 9 - 14 June 2006
Tommy Hilfiger wins overall victory
in the Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix
After nearly 70 races, in five countries, during seven months it all came down to the last day to decide the winner of the Volvo Extreme 40 grand prix series. After a final head to head in Rotterdam, Motorola-CHR won the Rotterdam series while Team Tommy Hilfiger took the overall series trophy away with them.
On the final day it came down to three boats Basilica, Motorola-CHR and Team Tommy Hilfiger battled it out for the top spot this afternoon in three exciting races. A gusty breeze of around 15 knots came in to please the catamaran sailors today but brought torrential rain with it making the spectators lives a little harder. The best wind of the week made for a fitting end to the grand prix series as the cats could really show what they were made of.
In the first race Basilica, Motorola-CHR and Tommy Hilfiger fought it out on the tactical race course, all covering each other but the Brits on Basilica came out on top followed by Tommy Hilfiger and Motorola-CHR. Conrad Humphreys skipper of Motorola-CHR commented, “We got nailed on the start of the race which was unfortunate but got ourselves back in there.”
The second race of the day became the series clincher when two protests between Basilica and Tommy Hilfiger were lodged, which would eventually decide the overall grand prix leader board. These protests were taken to the jury after racing finished, who heard both parties and subsequently disqualified Basilica for an incident at a mark. The second protest was then thrown out for lack of evidence.
The first disqualification lost Basilica not only the Rotterdam series but the overall grand prix trophy. James Grant skipper of the Basilica team was obviously very disappointed. “We have a great team and have really enjoyed this series. These are fabulous boats and we have achieved so much in these past months so we are really proud. We would have never got through it without our sponsors, our supporters and our families. We have been blown away by it all.”
Motorola-CHR came back in the third race to win and before the protest the team thought they were second but after the hearing they moved up to poll position for the Rotterdam series. An ecstatic Conrad Humphreys thanked his whole team and the organisation for all their help and support. “It went down to the wire today – it was the equivalent of a World Cup penalty shoot out. We put the cat amongst the pigeons yesterday, which meant that the final podium place as well as the Rotterdam series was up for grabs. After 70 races, you couldn’t have written a better script for the last day. I’m really pleased for the Motorola team, Leigh, Will, Hamish and Vikki for all their effort and thanks to our sponsors for all their support.”&xnbsp;
Tonight Team Tommy Hilfiger with Randy Smyth at the helm were celebrating in style as they held the Volvo Extreme 40 overall grand prix trophy high on the podium. Smyth and his team won the series in Baltimore and in Portsmouth but it was still down to the last day and a protest room to give them their title. “It’s been the biggest day. No one likes winning in the protest room, I like winning on the water but if that’s what it has come down to and I am very happy that we have won. We have a great team and a fantastic sponsor plus we really enjoy ourselves; we have loved the last few months.”
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Final Results
1st Motorola-CHR (2,1,1,2,3,2,3,5,5,3,4,1,3,4,3,1) 114 pts
2nd Tommy Hilfiger (1,3,2,1,4,3,1,2,2,2,3,4,DSQ,2,1,4) 113 pts
3rd Basilica (5,4,3,DNF,2,1,2,1,4,1,2,3,1,DSQ,2) 112 pts
4th Holmatro (3,5,4,3,1,4,4,3,3,4,1,2,3,3,2,3) 102 pts&xnbsp;
5th Volvo Ocean Race (4,2,DNF,DNF,5,5,5,4,1,5,5,5,(DNF),5,4,5) 72 pts
Overall Series Rankings
1st Tommy Hilfiger 40 pts
2nd Basilica 36 pts
3rd Motorola-CHR 36 pts
4th Holmatro 29 pts
5th Volvo Ocean Race 24 pts
///ENDS
Further information on the Volvo Extreme 40 Class can be found on the website:
www.VolvoExtreme40.org
The Volvo Extreme 40 is a new high tech, exciting, strict one-design catamaran purposely designed and built to race inshore and short offshore regattas. This 40 foot long multi-hull was created by dual Olympic medallist Mitch Booth and designed by Olympic Gold Medal winner Yves Loday with only one thing in mind, 'ACTION'.
The concept is a simple, extremely exciting, easy to sail, light weight, full carbon fibre race machine. The boat is estimated to reach speeds of 35 knots in flat water in around 20-25 knots wind. The Volvo Extreme 40 will fly a hull in as little as eight knots of breeze, giving the best visual impact in all wind conditions to many spectators.
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