26/08/17

SAP Extreme Sailing Team steals the lead on day two in Cardiff

Four podium finishes, including two bullets, were enough for SAP Extreme Sailing Team to take the overnight lead on day two of the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Cardiff, but Alinghi is in hot pursuit.

The crowds packing the shores of Cardiff Bay were treated to sun and a spectacular foiling display from the international fleet of GC32s, as an unexpected breeze filled in just in time for the Stadium Racing in the Welsh capital.

„We’re happy with the day. It’s very difficult not to have a couple of races that are challenging but we only had one or two, so we’re pretty happy with that,“ said co-skipper and mainsail trimmer Rasmus Køstner.

„We have worked a lot on our starts and we came off the line really well today, and that makes a big difference,“ added Køstner, whose Danish-flagged squad is tied on points with leader Oman Air on the season scoreboard.

Defending Series champion Alinghi lost its day one lead but remains in strong contention, just four points behind SAP Extreme Sailing Team and with two full days of racing still to come. Co-skipper Arnaud Psarofaghis remains positive.

„Today was great for us,“ said Psarofaghis, who helmed his team to two wins but also suffered one last place blot on his scorecard. „We made a few mistakes that cost us a lot of points, but overall the day was really good for us and we’re really happy with the way we sailed.

„Nothing has changed since the last Act in Hamburg, it just wasn’t our regatta,“ added Psarofaghis, whose team has had two bad results in the past two Acts, leaving it under pressure to perform in Cardiff.

Oman Air had a mixed bag, with only three podium finishes from the six races, including one win and one sixth place.

„Today was a bit of a horrid day for us, we didn’t really gel and we didn’t get the boat going in the right places,“ said skipper Phil Robertson, whose team enters the second half of Act 6 in third, but with a troubling nine-point deficit on the leader.

„We snuck a few good results in but when we weren’t on the podium we were doing a lot of damage and that’s not what you want to do, you want to keep it consistent,“ he added.

Kiwi squad NZ Extreme Sailing Team follows the Omani crew in fourth, with Red Bull Sailing Team climbing two spots to fifth.

Land Rover BAR Academy, who sits in sixth, celebrated its first win of the Act in race six, as it crossed the line to the sound of cheers from the crowds and with a mammoth lead on the rest of the pack.

„It came together nicely for us. To look back as you come across the finish line with that much of a lead is pretty epic,“ said a delighted skipper, Rob Bunce, whose team welcomed Welsh rugby star and Land Rover UK Ambassador Leigh Halfpenny on board as a Guest Sailor in the opening race.

Local wildcard entry Team Extreme Wales, whose crew includes British Olympians Stevie Morrison and Alain Sign, dropped two spots to seventh but managed to bag one third place finish.

After 10 races in the Flying Phantom Series ZEPHYR by Idreva, crewed by Charles Hainneville and Antoine Rucard, still tops the standings but Red Bull Sailing Team is fighting back. Olympians Thomas Zajac and Will Ryan sailed the Austrian-flagged boat to three consecutive wins, moving from sixth to second out of the fleet of 13. Culture Foil drops from second to third.

The Flying Phantoms will race from 10:00 – 15:00 UTC+1 tomorrow, with the GC32s scheduled to start at 15:00 UTC+1. Fans can watch the live stream of the racing on the official Facebook and YouTube pages from 15:00 – 18:00 UTC+1.

The free-to-enter Fan Zone will be open to public from 11:00 UTC+1, with plenty of on shore entertainment for the whole family. Get more information on the official event page.

Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 6, Cardiff, standings after Day 2, 8 races (26.08.17)
Position / Team / Points
1st SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Rasmus Køstner, Adam Minoprio, Mads Emil Stephensen, Pierluigi de Felice, Richard Mason 84 points.
2nd Alinghi (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothé Lapauw, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 80 points.
3rd Oman Air (OMA) Phil Robertson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari 75 points.
4th NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL) Graeme Sutherland, Josh Junior, Harry Hull, Shane Diviney, Josh Salthouse 73 points.
5th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Stewart Dodson, Adam Piggott, Will Tiller 68 points.
6th Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR) Rob Bunce, Owen Bowerman, Oli Greber, Adam Kay, Mark Spearman 66 points.
7th Team Extreme Wales (GBR) Stevie Morrison, Alain Sign, Martin Evans, Michael Beckett, James French 58 points.

Flying Phantom Series Cardiff standings after Day 2, 10 races (26.08.17)
Position / Team / Points
1st ZEPHYR by Idreva (FRA): Charles Hainneville (FRA)/Antoine Rucard (FRA) 182 points.
2nd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT): Thomas Zajac (AUT)/Will Ryan (AUS) 178 points.
3rd Culture Foil (FRA): Eric Peron (FRA)/Théo Constance (FRA) 169 points.
4th Solidaires en Peloton (FRA): Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (FRA)/David Fanouillere (FRA) 165 points.
5th UON (POR): Helder Basilio (POR)/João Sousa (POR) 157 points.
6th Oman Sail (OMA): Thomas Normand (FRA)/Antoine Joubert (FRA)/Ahmed Al Hasani (OMA) 147 points.
7th Flying Frogs (FRA): Pierre Le Clainche (FRA)/Arnaud Vasseur (FRA) 137 points.
8th Team Razzle Dazzle (SUI): Florian Trüb (SUI)/Ian Andrewes (USA/NZL) 135 points.
9th Masterlan (CZE): David Krizek (CZE)/Milan Harmacek (CZE) 132 points.
10th Lupe Tortilla (USA): John Tomko (USA)/Jonathan Atwood (USA) 129 points.
11th Back to Basics (FRA): Bruno Marais (FRA)/Eric Le Bouedec (FRA) 95 points.
12th Red Bill II (FRA): Dominique Pichon (FRA)/David Mirabel (FRA) 94 points.
13th EVO Visian ICL (GER): Raphael Neuhann (GER)/Elias Neuhann (GER) 83 points.

25/08/17

Alinghi sneaks ahead on light winds opener in Cardiff

Consistency paid off for Alinghi on the opening day of Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 6, Cardiff, as light winds prevented a full day of scoring racing. SAP Extreme Sailing Team and Oman Air took a bullet each but paired it with a finish off the podium, allowing the Swiss crew to edge ahead.

Despite the forecast earlier this week showing plenty of breeze, the wind did not materialise and only two races were completed. Alinghi demonstrated its prowess in these conditions as it bagged a brace of seconds, ending the day in the lead by one point.

„It was a really good day for us,“ said co-skipper Arnaud Psarofaghis. „We had a really tricky first race, we struggled to start well but then we had a nice first downwind and came back to take second.

„There is still a lot of work to do before the end of the Act. We will just take it easy every race and see how it goes. The boat sailed really well and the guys did a fantastic job, it was really calm and a nice day to sail,“ added Psarofaghis.

SAP Extreme Sailing Team follows the Swiss in second, with current season leader Oman Air making up the podium in third.

„We expected these conditions today and we were quite pleasantly surprised that we managed to get two races in,“ said Oman Air skipper Phil Robertson. „We’re happy, we won the last race, it’s always nice to finish on a high.“

NZ Extreme Sailing Team missed out on the podium by two points, with Kiwi America’s Cup sailor Josh Junior having made his debut as helm.

Local wildcard entry Team Extreme Wales, who sits a further two points back, took third in the second race of the day to the delight of the home crowds.

„It’s always quite nice to beat the Kiwis, and there’s not a lot of sports that you can beat them in at the moment, so we’ll take that,“ joked skipper Stevie Morrison, a two-time British Olympian.

„It was very light winds and tricky, but the guys are really quick learners. Everyone is having a good time and is open-minded to learn,“ he added.

Land Rover BAR Academy lies tied on points with its fellow British squad, while Red Bull Sailing Team sits bottom of the table.

The season finale of the Flying Phantom Series kicked off the morning’s racing on Cardiff Bay. ZEPHYR by Idreva, sailed by Charles Hainneville and Antoine Rucard, took the early lead of the Act.

„I feel pretty good,“ said helm Hainneville. „Winning two of the three races was a very good way for us to start the final Act of the 2017 Flying Phantom Series but there are still three days of racing to go so we will see what happens.“

Culture Foil, sailed by Eric Peron and Théo Constance, finish the day in second with Solidaires en Peloton, sailed by Thibaut Vauchel-Camus and David Fanouillere, in third. Current season leader Red Bull Sailing Team had a slower start to the regatta, managing only one podium finish, and sit sixth overall.

Racing resumes for the Flying Phantoms tomorrow at 10:00 UTC+1 with the GC32s scheduled to start at 14:00 UTC+1. Fans can follow the action via the live blog.

The free-to-enter Fan Zone will be open to public from 11:00, with plenty of on-shore entertainment for the whole family. Get more information on the official event page.

Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 6, Cardiff, standings after Day 1, 2 races (25.08.17)
Position / Team / Points
1st Alinghi (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothé Lapauw, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 22 points.
2nd SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Rasmus Køstner, Adam Minoprio, Mads Emil Stephensen, Pierluigi de Felice, Richard Mason 21 points.
3rd Oman Air (OMA) Phil Robertson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari 20 points.
4th NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL) Graeme Sutherland, Josh Junior, Harry Hull, Shane Diviney, Josh Salthouse 18 points.
5th Team Extreme Wales (GBR) Stevie Morrison, Alain Sign, Martin Evans, Michael Beckett, James French 16 points.
6th Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR) Rob Bunce, Owen Bowerman, Oli Greber, Adam Kay, Mark Spearman 16 points.
7th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Stewart Dodson, Adam Piggott, Will Tiller 13 points.

Flying Phantom Series Cardiff standings after Day 1, 3 races (25.08.17)
Position / Team / Points
1st ZEPHYR by Idreva (FRA): Charles Hainneville (FRA)/Antoine Rucard (FRA) 58 points.
2nd Culture Foil (FRA): Eric Peron (FRA)/Théo Constance (FRA) 54 points.
3rd Solidaires en Peloton (FRA): Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (FRA)/David Fanouillere (FRA) 53 points.
4th Oman Sail (OMA): Thomas Normand (FRA)/Antoine Joubert (FRA)/Ahmed Al Hasani (OMA) 48 points.
5th UON (POR): Helder Basilio (POR)/João Sousa (POR) 48 points.
6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT): Thomas Zajac (AUT)/Will Ryan (AUS) 46 points.
7th Flying Frogs (FRA): Pierre Le Clainche (FRA)/Arnaud Vasseur (FRA) 40 points.
8th Masterlan (CZE): David Krizek (CZE)/Milan Harmacek (CZE) 37 points.
9th Lupe Tortilla (USA): John Tomko (USA)/Jonathan Atwood (USA) 37 points.
10th Team Razzle Dazzle (SUI): Florian Trüb (SUI)/Ian Andrewes (USA/NZL) 37 points.
11th EVO Visian ICL (GER): Raphael Neuhann (GER)/Elias Neuhann (GER) 34 points.
12th Red Bill II (FRA): Dominique Pichon (FRA)/David Mirabel (FRA) 26 points.
13th Back to Basics (FRA): Bruno Marais (FRA)/Eric Le Bouedec (FRA) 26 points.