by 52 Super Series media
There was no further racing today for the BARCLAYS 52 SUPER SERIES fleet in Capri due to the lack of a settled, suitable breeze. But on the strength of a promising outlook for Saturday, the scheduled final day, the race officers have moved the start time forward by one hour (to 1100hrs local warning) and will attempt to squeeze in as many windward-leeward contests as possible.
The fleet of nine boats were held ashore at Capri’s Marina Grande before they were brought out to the race area around 1330hrs. The conflicting winds battled for supremacy and although there were some promising periods, the boats were sent back to the dock. One more attempt was made but ultimately all efforts were thwarted by the fickle, changeable light winds.
The finale set for Saturday sees Vesper and Azzurra locked on the same points tally, only one point ahead of Quantum Racing. The American team of Jim Swartz are relishing their role as the perceived underdogs, ready to take on the past 52 SUPER SERIES and MedCup champion crews. While both Azzurra and Quantum Racing have a history stretching back more than five seasons, this is Vesper’s first ever event in Europe.
Vesper’s tactician Gavin Brady promises they will give it their best tomorrow, with nothing to lose:
“On paper we are probably the underdogs to the teams around us. I think we go out tomorrow and swing for the fence. We will enjoy the position as underdogs. It’s our first event in Europe and we have the oldest boat here. We are very, very pleased to be in the position we are in. We will just go out there and have a good crack at it.” “You have to be ready for days like this and just deal with them, and not get frustrated. You have always to be ready to race. The big thing is to keep the crew focused, to not start thinking we wont race or thinking we should be going back to the dock. You have to be in race mode all day. That is quite hard, always thinking ‘if we race now were would you go?’. Tomorrow will be a real test for the teams. On team Vesper we have nothing to lose. The only pressure we have tomorrow will be what we put on ourselves.”
BARCLAYS 52 SUPER SERIES - Capri, Italy
Standings after four races going into final day
1= Vesper, USA, (Jim Swartz USA) (5,2,1,6) 14pts
1= Azzurra, ITA, (Alberto Roemmers ARG) (3,3,7,1) 14pts
3. Quantum Racing, USA, (Doug De Vos USA) (4,1,6,4) 15pts
4. Rán Racing, SWE, (Niklas Zennström SWE) (2,8,2,5) 17pts
5. Phoenix, BRA, (Eduardo de Souza Ramos BRA) (1,7,3,8) 19pts
6. Provezza 7, TUR, (Ergin Imre TUR) (6,4,8,2) 20pts
7. Gladiator, GBR, (Tony Langley GBR) (9,6,5,3) 23pts
8. Paprec, FRA, (Jean Luc Petithugenin FRA) (7,5,9,7) 28pts
9. B2, ITA, (Michele Galli ITA) (8,9,4,9) 30pts
Barclays 52 Super Series
