29th September 2011
Into Stadium Racing Tomorrow as the Pressure Builds at Act 7, Nice
Austrian skipper, Roman Hagara, managed to fight off the challenges of his competitors to keep Red Bull Extreme Sailing at the top of the leaderboard on the second day of Act 7, Nice â but only by 1.5 points! Tomorrow Act 7 of the Extreme Sailing Series opens to the public of Nice, the racing moves closer to shore in âstadiumâ mode and the WEBcam feed goes live online (see more info below)â
Todayâs action began in the morning with the 11 Extreme 40 teams sent out to race early to take advantage of the north-westerly gradient breeze from the land. Britainâs three-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie, scored his first race win in Nice, and Paul Campbell-James at the helm of the Italian team Luna Rossa claimed the other race before the breeze disappeared.
Foto: Lloyd Images
But the afternoonâs racing session produced some âPol Rogerâ champagne sailing conditions! The breeze kicked in, windward hulls were flying, the racing was intense and, at times, too close to call. In the fourth race of the afternoon, Alinghi and Red Bull Extreme Sailing had a dead-heat: Thats pretty incredible,â said Alinghi skipper Tanguy Cariou. âIt is really unusual to see this kind of situation in our sportâ It was a genuine photo finish like you see in athletics or cycling. We might need a video replay system soon! Even us onboard, we had no idea if we crossed the finish line before or after them.â
During todayâs official press conference in front of the national and international media, the skippers described the racing as intense and close even more so in the light conditions. âIts a real test of team work,â said Ben Ainslie. âWhen itâs windy itâs physical, in the light stuff itâs about taking a few deep breaths, suck it in and get the results you need.â
The first three races this afternoon were raced in a typical Mediterranean light sea breeze with Max Sirenaâs Italian team Luna Rossa finding their form that was missing yesterday, to secure two further wins; and Team GAC Pindar skipper, Ian Williams, clearly worked out a winning strategy, which he explained at the press conference avoid the wind shadow of the other boats to claim a race win and the teamâs performance today has put them mid-leaderboard.
The final race of the day decided the overall standings ahead of the âstadiumâ racing. Terry Hutchinsonâs Artemis Racing team nailed the start, judged the lay lines bang on, pulling out a good lead on the Swiss team of Alinghi, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild were in third and Red Bull Extreme Sailing fourth on the final downwind leg with Luna Rossa chasing in fifth. The positions reindexed unchanged at the finish which allowed Hagaraâs to retain the overall lead. Whilst Luna Rossa made the biggest leap today into 3rd place in the rankings from 8th yesterday. âWe had a great day,â said Paul Campbell-James. âThere is something about the second day of the regattas for us, itâs when we seem to have a great day. And today was really shifty and a really hard course. We are not out of the game at the moment which is the most important thing at this stage, and itâs all to play for tomorrow. Stadium racing in one of the most beautiful venues weâve been to. The beach is packed, the VIP area is nice and close, it will be great.â
Pierre Pennecs all-French team reindex 2nd in the rankings, courtesy of their third place. Ben Ainslie on Oman Air is only 1 point ahead of his stablemate Leigh McMillan and the crew on The Wave, Muscat who seem to be struggling here: âIts about adapting to the different conditions quickly, getting off the start line well and weve not done that here,â said McMillan. Team Extreme Nice Cote dâAzur skippered by Jean-Pierre Dick now find themselves at the bottom of the overall ranking behind the Italians team of Niceforyou. But the rookie team who had a great day yesterday was always realistic about their chances here racing against the more experienced and highly competitive top-level sailors.
Tomorrow, Act 7 will open to the public of Nice. The racing will be brought closer to shore so the spectators can see the fleet in action up close, with live commentary in French and English (catering for the tourists on the Promenade des Anglais!) and a live WEBcam feed for online fans around the world [just click on the WEBcam banner on the home page of the website to open the viewing window]. The Race Village with its retail outlets and animations opens daily; and tomorrow 49er teams will join the action on the water. On Saturday and Sunday the NeilPryde Racing Series starts with 20+ windsurfers competing here on the Bay of Angels. There will be plenty of moves on and off the water, as well as on the leaderboard over the coming daysâ
The Talent Arrives in Nice check out the day 1 video from Nice super talented and super competitive.
Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France standings after 12 races (29.9.11)
Position / Team / Points
1st Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Will Howden / Craig Monk 90.5 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 89 points
3rd Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 88 points
4th Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 85.5 points
5th Artemis Racing (SWE), Terry Hutchinson / Sean Clarkson / Morgan Trubovich / Julien Cressant, 84 points
6th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brian MacInnes 73 points
7th Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 60 points
8th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 59 points
9th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker / Adam Beashel / Jeremy Lomas / Chris McAsey 56 points
10th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 54 points
11th Team Extreme Nice Côte dâAzur (FRA), Jean-Pierre Dick / Jérémie Beyou / Billy Besson / Arnaud Jarlegant 52 points
Photos
Act 7, Nice - Day 2 - Fleet
Fleet lining up for the start on Day 2 of Act 7, Nice
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Luna Rossa - Act 7, Nice - Day 2
Luna Rossa leading the race on Day 2 of Act 7, Nice
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Act 7, Nice - Day 2 - Team GAC Pindar
Team GAC Pindar flying a hull on day 2 of racing in Nice
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Act 7, Nice - Day 2 - Oman Air
Oman Air score their first race win of Act 7 in Nice on day 2
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Act 7, Nice - Day 2 - Oman Air
Ben Ainslie and crew onboard Oman Air on day 2 in Nice
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Act 7, Nice - Day 2 - Alinghi & Red Bull Extreme Sailing
Alinghi & Red Bull Extreme Sailing racing in the Bay of Angels on day 2 of Act 7, Nice
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Act 7, Nice - Day 2 - Luc Alphand
Frenchman Luc Alphand made his World Cup skiing debut in 1984 winning the 1987 World Cup and a Bronze medal at the Alpine World Ski Championships in 1996. He than made the switch to motorsport, winning the 2006 Dakar Rally!
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Sabine König / Red Bull Extreme Sailing
Act 7, Nice - Day 2 - Team Extreme Nice Côte dâAzur
Team Extreme Nice Côte dâAzur and fleet racing on Day 2 of Act 7, Nice
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Videos
The Talent Arrives in Nice - Act 7, Day 1
11 supremely talented and competitive Extreme 40 teams rolled into Nice for the start of Act 7. Everyone was talking about the "strong line-up" and "high-level of competition" as the Extreme Sailing Series plays out its final Acts in Nice, Almeria and Singapore. Red Bull Extreme Sailing were on winning form on day 1 whilst 'hometown hero' Jean-Pierre Dick was also on a roll in his first Extreme 40 event.
