Start of race 8. Image copyright Thierry Martinez/Sea&Co/OC Events.
In Brief:
- After 17 races completed Gitana Extreme - Groupe LCF Rothschild wins the iShares Cup Venice event
- BMW ORACLE Racing finish second, Renaissance (Oman Sail) third
- Light winds, heavy tension
- Fantastic show with boats flying hulls just metres away from the race village
by Emily Caroe
Great starts, impressive speed and flawless manoeuvres allowed Yann Guichard's crew to shine on the racecourse since Day 1 at the iShares Cup Venice, taking the lead yesterday after 10 races... Winning the first one today, the French team proved omnipresent in the leading group, making very few mistakes and gradually capitalising on points to move closer to final victory after each race. The wind direction today forced the Race Committee to set-up oblong courses leaving few tactical options to the skippers, and more than ever winning the first mark was key - any hesitation or imperfect placement on the startline was immediately sanctioned by a costly result. Show-wise, it was absolutely perfect with the boats coming under gennaker, flying a hull, just metres away from the race village!
Gitana Extreme - Groupe LCF Rothschild leads the way upwind. Image copyright Thierry Martinez/Sea&Co/OC Events.
Loïck Peyron's Renaissance (Oman Sail), had a great start to the day and won two races in a row before collapsing in the final confrontation, while the Groupama 40 boys were on good form as well, posting a first win today then a second place while Gitana Extreme - Groupe LCF Rothschild and BMW ORACLE Racing were having a 'shocker' in race 14. At the end of the latter, Renaissance was third only two points away from the America's Cup team! Pressure was building up, with the perspective of the last race of the day counting for double points. By that time Renaissance had moved into second place, and tension was high as anything could happen for second, third and fourth places! And indeed, it did. Renaissance's risky start option did not pay off and Peyron ended up at the back of the fleet whilst Ecover was leading at the first mark... before being relegated to the last place in the final race with so many points at stake! BT captured the last victory of the iShares Cup Venice event in front BMW ORACLE Racing while Gitana Extreme - Groupe LCF Rothschild came third and secured overall victory.
Yann Guichard(FRA), skipper of Gitana Extreme - Groupe LCF Rothschild (FRA), with the winners' champagne. Image copyright Thierry Martinez/Sea&Co/OC Events.
Yann Guichard: "It's a great feeling to win here, I guess we were coming knowing we were somewhere in the top five, but winning the first event is fantastic! We concentrated on our starts, communication within the team was excellent and we did not lose our focus. There is a lot of pressure on the helmsmen as the boats are very close, and it's very demanding physically for the crew but we were working perfectly together. That's one in the bag, and five to go! We really enjoyed the format, I think it's been great for the spectators as well. We'll go back to training soon, as the next event in Hyères will probably be more windy and a bit different, but we're looking forward to it."
Start of race 8. Image copyright Thierry Martinez/Sea&Co/OC Events.
Moving on... Next stop in Hyères-TPM
The next event of the iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series will take place in Hyères-TPM (France), a venue which last year provided some of the most spectacular images of the season! As Gilles Chiorri, OC Events Director, points out: "Moving on from Venice to Hyères-TPM is probably the best demonstration of the variety the iShares Cup offers in terms of racing conditions. The sailors have had to adapt to a tricky and very tight course in the Bacino San Marco (Venice), the game will be different in France with a more open and windy venue, and with the Mistral likely to kick in, we can expect a few hair-raising moments!" The stunning bay of Hyères with the gorgeous Porquerolles island in the background will be a delight for the sailors and the spectators alike.
Fleet at the downwind mark in race 8. Image copyright Thierry Martinez/Sea&Co/OC Events.
Skipper quotes
James Spithill, BMW ORACLE Racing, second overall: "It was obviously very light and today was definitely a different style of racing with a reaching course and I thought we were pretty weak at it so I think we're happy to walk away with a second. Gitana were definitely on top of their game. So a lot of good lessons have been learnt and I think we'll be better for it. (Venice was) fantastic, what a great venue, got to love it, we really enjoyed it."
Start of race 10. Image copyright Thierry Martinez/Sea&Co/OC Events.
Loïck Peyron, Renaissance (Oman Sail), third overall: "I'm not used yet to the medal race - I never do that, you know! That's for young people, looking for Olympic medals so you have to manage that a bit better! No, it was really nice, really interesting. I guess we did a nice crew job and a nice team job too by training together, by trying to do better and better together which is the game and for sure it could be worse. Gitana did a very, very good job, for sure. I'm afraid I trained them a bit too much! I'm very happy to have a big team like BMW ORACLE Racing between a French team and an Oman one, that's perfect. Here you have to be careful all the time - the next venues, especially Hyeres in fact are wider, I hope, maybe with more wind so need strong crews. We can feel that everybody can do something well some teams seem to have maybe some difference but it's never finished, never."
The participating skippers in Venice. Image copyright Thierry Martinez/Sea&Co/OC Events.
Mike Golding, Ecover, 10th overall: "I don't think the racing will get any more difficult than it is here in Venice, where the course is very confined - if you don't get you start right you're out! The main thing is that we're enjoying it a lot, I've got great guys on board and we don't have any speed issues, it's only a matter of learning now. I think that you probably almost have to do a year of this to know how to do it. I never thought I could turn up and expect instant gratification. (...) So yes, we're thinking about taking part in the circuit in 2010, you have to take a longer view. We'll see how it goes."
iShares Cup in Venice. Image copyright Thierry Martinez/Sea&Co/OC Events.
iShares Cup
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