LVT: Azzurra Ready for the Off in Nice

Azzurra training off Nice. Image copyright Azzurra/www.azzurra.it

by Jill Campbell

Team Azzurra is preparing for tomorrow’s first day of racing against BMW Oracle racing in the Louis Vuitton Trophy – Nice Cote d’Azur. The Italian team, led by skipper Francesco Bruni, has been paired with the Americans of Oracle, with skipper Russell Coutts, for the opening match race in the first flight of Round Robin One in the event which is scheduled to take place from 7th to 22 November 2009.

Skipper Francesco Bruni remembers well his last match race against Coutts and BMW Oracle Racing which resulted in the elimination of team Italia from the semi-finals of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in Auckland: “Russell Coutts is the skipper and that speaks volumes about the quality and preparation of this team which is certainly one of the favourites. I definitely feel that I have grown since Auckland however, and being better prepared makes me feel more at ease. It will be an interesting match with a new team pitched against an experienced one but we have beaten teams with more experience than us in the past with simplicity, humility and our desire to carry forward the Italian flag.”

Azzurra’s Tactician Tommaso Chieffi is quietly hopeful: “this the start of a new adventure and we are confident that we can do well but at the same time curious to learn more about our adversaries and especially about this regatta course - which could prove light and instable. Oracle is certainly one of the most fearsome teams here but our training has gone well and so we are feeling positive.”

Racing is scheduled to start at 9 am tomorrow, 7th November on the regatta course located in the Baie des Anges off Nice’s waterfront. The forecast currently predicts west to north-westerly winds of approximately 16 to 18 knots for tomorrow morning.

Azzurra
Louis Vuitton Trophy