Audi A1 Team powered by ALL4ONE during the coastal race. Image copyright Richard Walch.
by Stephanie Nadin
The smiling faces were speaking for themselves tonight on the TP52 pontoon when the French-German team came back from the coastal race. They finished 3rd of this 8th race today after more than three hours racing, pushing them tonight at the second place of the provisional overall standings of the Portugal Trophy, just behind Emirates Team New Zealand, and in front of Artemis.
They said:
Philippe Mourniac, Navigator: "The race has been really windy and tough. We reached 25 knots of wind at some point. After the two first legs, we did a very long one upwind with the sea getting very choppy. Then we had a fantastic downwind leg that we really enjoyed for about 40-45 minutes, with a great boat speed about 20 knots average. Then we sailed into the river, which allowed us "to visit" Lisboa a bit. There was less wind in this area, so we enjoyed the view. We are a bit tired tonight, as we have fought hard in the top of the fleet, and we remained focused at all times. After 8 races, I have to say that we start to like being with the leaders, fighting with the top guys. I think we are now far over the lucky situation of the beginners".
Audi A1 Team powered by ALL4ONE in the Audi MedCup Portugal Trophy. Image copyright Richard Walch.
Paolo Bassani, Floater and Boat captain: "That was a tough race today with a lot of breeze. We managed a good leg upwind, and then on the second long downwind leg we passed three boats. So we rounded the bottom mark at the second place with Matador just behind us, but they took the 2nd place back on the reaching. From that point the race was basically over as nothing much changed, except a battle with Artemis to keep them behind us on the last two miles upwind. We finish 3rd, which is great for us, so I'm more than happy, and didn't expect such a good result when we arrived one week ago. I'm also proud of the work the whole crew did together to prepare the boat, as we sailed a lot in strong winds and didn't break much."
The Portugal Trophy will end tomorrow, Sunday, with the two last races on the programme to close this great week of competition in Cascais, opening the 2010 season of the Audi MedCup Circuit, which is full of promises for Audi A1 Team powered by ALL4ONE.
ALL4ONE Challenge
Audi MedCup
