30.08.2009
Groupama
Podium finish for Groupama 40
The fourth event in the iShares Cup in Kiel saw the first podium finish for
Groupama 40, who take third place behind Masirah and Renaissance, the two
Extreme 40s from the Oman team, who also share the podium in the overall
championship ranking 2009 with Gitana.
Though certain stages weren’t as great as they might have been from a
strictly sporting viewpoint with the emphasis on the show, the German stage
of the iShares Cup was a success on every level. In terms of the sport, the
race zone and the wind were sufficiently challenging for everyone concerned.
In terms of the public, the spectators were out in force with a prime view
of the racing from the bank. Finally, in terms of the French contingent,
four of these five boats were in the top five.
At the helm of Groupama 40 for the second time this season, Franck Cammas
racked up some very satisfactory results in the German stage. “We’ve made
great progress with a crew which is beginning to make the right moves
instinctively and is very determined. We have also improved in the starts
and the manoeuvres, so we’re up with the best of them. All we have to do now
is to increase our consistency to stand a chance of winning.”
Not always in agreement with the decisions made by the jury, who he deemed
were not in sufficient numbers to monitor the racing, the skipper of
Groupama 40 has however appreciated the competition: “The racing was very
hotly disputed and the general level is very high. It’s not down to chance
that we have an Olympic medallist at the top of the ranking and that,
together with Peyron and Guichard we are just behind. Here in Kiel, the race
zone was really well suited to this type of racing. There was some room for
play, even though the start reindexs a determining factor in the result of
each race.”
Organised by Offshore Challenges, a company owned by Mark Turner and Ellen
MacArthur, the iShares Cup is becoming increasingly well known in France, a
country traditionally more attracted by ocean racing. Contested aboard
identical 12 metre boats and driven by four crew plus one guest, the iShares
Cup 2009 gathers together sailors of seven nationalities. Like those
competing in the 33rd America’s Cup, they are fond of the multihull, which
up to now has been a predominantly French speciality.
The next stage will take place in Amsterdam from 25th to 27th September and
the last will be run in Alméria, Spain, from 10th to 12th October. Currently
fourth in the general ranking of the 2009 championship, Groupama 40 will
probably find it difficult to make up their deficit on the top three…
unless…
Gitana Extreme
Onward to Amsterdam
The fourth grand prix of the season came to an end in Germany this Sunday
with a 4th place for the men on Gitana Extreme – LCF Rothschild Group.
Decidedly performing very well this season, Pete Cumming’s men scored
another win for the 3rd consecutive event, even though ultimately there was
precious little between them and their compatriots.
This lunchtime, as the ten Extreme 40 crews calmly climbed aboard their
steeds, the competition was more open than ever given the very slight
separation between the top four one designs, which augured well for some
high tension racing. Indeed the false start by Gitana Extreme in the first
race was a perfect illustration of this. However, Yann Guichard had warned
of this at the start of the grand prix: “you have to be an opportunist and
know how to take risks if you’re playing to win!”
The stormy downpours once again livened up this third and final afternoon of
confrontations. Between the squalls and the comings and goings of the
ferries, which leave Kiel in their wake as they head into the Baltic Sea,
the race committee managed to launch six fine races today. However, there
were mixed results for the catamaran equipped by Baron Benjamin de
Rothschild: “Our first three bad races of the day put paid to our chances of
a podium finish in this fourth stage of the circuit. The reasons for this
were that, despite a good final race, in which we came second, we weren’t
able to come back on Groupama 40” explained Yann Guichard. “However, one
positive point that I’d like to highlight, is how the crew handled these
tricky moments. Indeed, even though we finished at the back of the leading
pack in half the races, everyone reindexed concentrated to get back into the
action!”
Applauding the performance of the three crews in front of him on the podium,
the skipper of Gitana Extreme was keen to, quite rightly, pass harsh
judgement on the problems encountered once again by the jury presiding over
the race zone: “The umpires weren’t up to scratch with events and I’m very
disappointed. We had three big errors committed on us which weren’t
penalised and these have cost us dearly in the final ranking. However, we
aren’t the only crew in this situation. Since the grand prix in Hyères, we
have been pointing the finger at the lack of referees on the water…”
In the championship ranking, this German meeting hasn’t been a very good
operation for the Gitana Team. However, though they’ve lost ground on the
men from Oman Sail Renaissance, Yann Guichard and his crew – made up of
Pierre Pennec, Christophe Lassegue and Hervé Cunningham – are hanging onto
their second place, just four points behind the leader Oman Sail Masirah.
The 5th event of the championship will take place from 25th to 27th
September 2009 in the charming Dutch city of Amsterdam. In the meantime
however the Gitana Team will be back in Brittany for the launch of the
revamped Gitana 11. In fact, in a few days time, the victorious trimaran
from the Route du Rhum 2006, will return to her natural element, where her
new lines will be revealed.
To conclude, a hearty congratulations to the crew of Ecover who were back on
the water this Sunday! Victim of a capsize on Friday, Mike Golding’s troops
weren’t sparing of their efforts as they readily took part in today’s
racing.
Ranking from the Kiel grand prix (after 19 races)
1/ Oman Sail Masirah (Pete Cumming) – 149 points
2/ Oman Sail Renaissance (Loïck Peyron) – 149 points
3/ Groupama 40 (Franck Cammas) – 134 points
4/ Gitana Extreme- LCF Rothschild Group (Yann GUICHARD) - 129 points
5/ Luna (Erik Maris) – 114 points
6/ iShares (Shirley Robertson) – 104 points
7/ Holmatro (Mitch Booth) – 95 points
8/ BT (Nick Moloney) – 95 points
9/ Wirsol Team German (Roland Gäbler) - 88 points
10/ Ecover (Mike Golding) – 16 points
Crew of Gitana Extreme - LCF Rothschild Group
Yann Guichard (skipper-helm)
Pierre Pennec (indexsail trimmer, tactics), Christophe Lassegue (headsail
trimmer, control of manœuvres) and Hervé Cunningham (headsail trimmer,
control of manœuvres)
Translated by Kate Jennings – Expression
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