Artikel-Schlagworte: „Alinghi“

The third day of the penultimate round in Spain, ahead of the final in Singapore, saw three different teams take the lead throughout the afternoon. Five races were completed today – two in open water and three inside the port of Almeria in stadium mode. Ben Ainslie helming Oman Air went into day three leading but nothing seemed to go there way today, and Emirates Team New Zealand pounced with Adam Beashel’s team taking the top spot after the first race held in open water in a reasonable sea breeze. The Kiwis fended their position, despite not scoring a race win and losing a crew overboard in the second race, whilst Alinghi and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild dominated at the front with two wins for the Swiss team and a victory for the French. But always in the background was Team GAC Pindar sailing strongly – a fourth, fifth, then a second, gaining their momentum until they were on equal points with Emirates Team New Zealand at the top. Tanguy Cariou’s team, driven by Yann Guichard, won the second stadium race in light airs and leap-frogged into the lead.

Going into the final stadium race of the day, Alinghi and Team GAC Pindar were on 89 points each and further down the leaderboard the points situation could not have been closer with only one or two points separating the top eight boats in a tactical game of snakes and ladders throughout the afternoon.

The faltering sea breeze seemed to recognize the importance of the final day’s race and revived itself to allow the boats to show a good turn of speed on the short course. The Wave, Muscat and Team Tilt got a flying start ahead of Team GAC Pindar whilst Alinghi got stuck mid-fleet off the start, and that was that. Wiliams’ team was away and never looked back, 3rd place enough to take the lead going into the penultimate day of Act 8.

“It was a really good day for us and we finished on the top half of every single race today,” said Williams. “For sure we will be fighting to try to retain the lead. Looking at the points it’s almost like a restart. We were 20 points behind last night and now we are 2 points ahead the second boat. It’s extremely tight, we will going down to the wire.”

The weekend crowd is in for a treat as the forecast is showing a significant turning up of the wind speed dial for tomorrow and on Sunday the final battle will be played out to determine who wins in Almeria, and who will lead the 2011 Championship rankings going into the final Act.

“Obviously with only two days to go we know by experience that anything can happen,” said Alinghi skipper, Tanguy Cariou. “We’re happy with that position tonight but we know that it will be even harder to keep it than to get it…” He is right about that – the all-French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, the Italians on Luna Rossa, the Kiwis on Emirates Team New Zealand and the Brits on Team GAC Pindar will be fighting them all the way…

Extreme Sailing Series Act 8, Almeria, Andalucia (Spain) standings after 14 races (14.10.11)
Position / Team / Points
1. Team GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams 98 points
2. Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou 95 points
3. The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan 93 points
4. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel 90 points
5. Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena 88 points
6. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec 85 points
7. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara 84 points
8. Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie 80 points
9. Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler 70 points
10. Team TILT (SUI), Alex Schneiter Heintz 62 points
11. Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier 59 points

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/37260.php

The third day of the penultimate round in Spain, ahead of the final in Singapore, saw three different teams take the lead throughout the afternoon. Five races were completed today – two in open water and three inside the port of Almeria in stadium mode. Ben Ainslie helming Oman Air went into day three leading but nothing seemed to go there way today, and Emirates Team New Zealand pounced with Adam Beashel’s team taking the top spot after the first race held in open water in a reasonable sea breeze. The Kiwis fended their position, despite not scoring a race win and losing a crew overboard in the second race, whilst Alinghi and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild dominated at the front with two wins for the Swiss team and a victory for the French. But always in the background was Team GAC Pindar sailing strongly – a fourth, fifth, then a second, gaining their momentum until they were on equal points with Emirates Team New Zealand at the top. Tanguy Cariou’s team, driven by Yann Guichard, won the second stadium race in light airs and leap-frogged into the lead.

Going into the final stadium race of the day, Alinghi and Team GAC Pindar were on 89 points each and further down the leaderboard the points situation could not have been closer with only one or two points separating the top eight boats in a tactical game of snakes and ladders throughout the afternoon.

The faltering sea breeze seemed to recognize the importance of the final day’s race and revived itself to allow the boats to show a good turn of speed on the short course. The Wave, Muscat and Team Tilt got a flying start ahead of Team GAC Pindar whilst Alinghi got stuck mid-fleet off the start, and that was that. Wiliams’ team was away and never looked back, 3rd place enough to take the lead going into the penultimate day of Act 8.

“It was a really good day for us and we finished on the top half of every single race today,” said Williams. “For sure we will be fighting to try to retain the lead. Looking at the points it’s almost like a restart. We were 20 points behind last night and now we are 2 points ahead the second boat. It’s extremely tight, we will going down to the wire.”

The weekend crowd is in for a treat as the forecast is showing a significant turning up of the wind speed dial for tomorrow and on Sunday the final battle will be played out to determine who wins in Almeria, and who will lead the 2011 Championship rankings going into the final Act.

“Obviously with only two days to go we know by experience that anything can happen,” said Alinghi skipper, Tanguy Cariou. “We’re happy with that position tonight but we know that it will be even harder to keep it than to get it…” He is right about that – the all-French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, the Italians on Luna Rossa, the Kiwis on Emirates Team New Zealand and the Brits on Team GAC Pindar will be fighting them all the way…

Extreme Sailing Series Act 8, Almeria, Andalucia (Spain) standings after 14 races (14.10.11)
Position / Team / Points
1. Team GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams 98 points
2. Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou 95 points
3. The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan 93 points
4. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel 90 points
5. Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena 88 points
6. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec 85 points
7. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara 84 points
8. Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie 80 points
9. Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler 70 points
10. Team TILT (SUI), Alex Schneiter Heintz 62 points
11. Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier 59 points

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/37258.php

Day two began in the morning with the 11 Extreme 40 teams sent out to race early to take advantage of the north-westerly gradient breeze from the land. Britain’s three-time Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie, scored his first race win in Nice, and Paul Campbell-James at the helm of the Italian team Luna Rossa claimed the other race before the breeze disappeared.

But the afternoon’s racing session produced some champagne sailing conditions! The breeze kicked in, windward hulls were flying, the racing was intense and, at times, too close to call. In the fourth race of the afternoon, Alinghi and Red Bull Extreme Sailing had a dead-heat. “That’s pretty incredible,” said Alinghi skipper Tanguy Cariou. “It is really unusual to see this kind of situation in our sport. It was a genuine photo finish like you see in athletics or cycling. We might need a video replay system soon! Even us onboard, we had no idea if we crossed the finish line before or after them.”

During today’s official press conference in front of the national and international media, the skippers described the racing as ‘intense and close’ – even more so in the light conditions. “It’s a real test of team work,” said Ben Ainslie. “When it’s windy it’s physical, in the light stuff it’s about taking a few deep breaths, suck it in and get the results you need.”

The first three races this afternoon were raced in a typical Mediterranean light sea breeze with Max Sirena’s Italian team Luna Rossa finding their form that was missing yesterday, to secure two further wins; and Team GAC Pindar skipper, Ian Williams, clearly worked out a winning strategy, which he explained at the press conference – avoid the wind shadow of the other boats – to claim a race win and the team’s performance today has put them mid-leaderboard.

The final race of the day decided the overall standings ahead of the ‘stadium’ racing. Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis Racing team nailed the start, judged the lay lines bang on, pulling out a good lead on the Swiss team of Alinghi, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild were in third and Red Bull Extreme Sailing fourth on the final downwind leg with Luna Rossa chasing in fifth. The positions remained unchanged at the finish which allowed Hagara’s to retain the overall lead.

Luna Rossa made the biggest leap into third place in the rankings from eighth on day one. “We had a great day,” said Paul Campbell-James. “There is something about the second day of the regattas for us, it’s when we seem to have a great day. And today was really shifty and a really hard course. We are not out of the game at the moment which is the most important thing at this stage, and it’s all to play for tomorrow. Stadium racing in one of the most beautiful venues we’ve been to. The beach is packed, the VIP area is nice and close, it will be great.”

Pierre Pennec’s all-French team remain second in the rankings, courtesy of their third place. Ben Ainslie on Oman Air is only one point ahead of his stablemate Leigh McMillan and the crew on The Wave, Muscat who seem to be struggling here: “It’s about adapting to the different conditions quickly, getting off the start line well and we’ve not done that here,” said McMillan. Team Extreme Nice Cote d’Azur skippered by Jean-Pierre Dick now find themselves at the bottom of the overall ranking behind the Italians team of Niceforyou. But the ‘rookie’ team who had a great day yesterday was always realistic about their chances here racing against the more experienced and highly competitive top-level sailors.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France standings after 12 races (29.9.11)
Position / Team / Points

1. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) Roman Hagara 90.5 points
2. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec 89 points
3. Luna Rossa (ITA) Max Sirena Modena 88 points
4. Alinghi (SUI) Tanguy Cariou 85.5 points
5. Artemis Racing (SWE) Terry Hutchinson 84 points
6. Team GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams 73 points
7. Oman Air (OMA) Ben Ainslie 60 points
8. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan Anbouri 59 points
9. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker 56 points
10. Niceforyou (ITA) Alberto Barovier 54 points
11. Team Extreme Nice Côte d‘Azur (FRA) Jean-Pierre Dick 52 points

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/37171.php

The racing was fast and furious as Alinghi managed to hold on at the top of the leaderboard. Max Sirena’s team on Luna Rossa pushed hard today scoring two first places and three second places to climb from fifth place to second overall ahead of the ‘stadium’ format racing that starts tomorrow.

“At the end of the day we were all pretty tired but we are happy as we sailed much better today and we were much quicker after some adjustments this morning to the set up, its our best day,” said Sirena. “We always know that we will do a lot of races during the day, and with short gaps between races it is better as you stay focused throughout. We are really happy with our position now the game is starting to get tough.”

Alberto Barovier and his crew on Niceforyou showed their progress in this class is gaining momentum scoring a second place and two third places. The public of Trapani will have much to cheer for as the ten teams race inside the harbour over the next three days.

The racing started in around 10 knots that steadily built through the afternoon to 25+ – a near capsize by The Wave, Muscat in the sixth and final race of the day indicated that the Extreme 40s were racing on the edge of control. The 1.5 mile multi-lap ‘open water’ courses allowed the teams to really unleash these 40ft multihull racing machines, charging downwind at speeds in excess of 20-22 knots, the spray hosing the crew in the bear aways.

The all-French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild skippered by Pierre Pennec also had a good day, winning the last ‘open water’ race and climbing into fifth place overall. “Today was much better than yesterday,” said bowman Hervé Cunningham. “It was a great day to sail – flat sea, good breeze and sunshine, it was perfect! We had more consistent results today, although we were still one step behind the top guys.”

The Emirates Team New Zealand team led by Adam Beashel, struggled to get to grips with the Extreme 40 machine in the demanding conditions at Cowes but a 4th and 5th place today will provide some encouragement to the Kiwis. British World Champion Match Racer Ian Williams, skipper of Team GAC Pindar, also struggled and a main halyard problem in the penultimate race forced a retirement.

“Today the wind was tracking right and building as the day went on, it was very exciting at the end,” commented Williams. “We haven’t had much time to practice and two of the team are new so we were happy we picked up a third place in the final race. I think the ‘stadium racing’ will suit us more as we struggle with boat speed, so coming into the stadium will give us a few more opportunities to use our strengths.”

The next three days are open to the public who came to the Race Village in their droves last night for the official opening ceremony and fireworks. The 10 Extreme 40s will be racing inside the harbour of Trapani from 15:00 CET. Before they take centre stage, 50 kids will be competing in the Optimist Challenge and 49ers teams from Italy and Malta will be racing in front of the public.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 6 at Trapani supported by Telecom Italia
Overall standings after 11 races
Position / Team / Points
1. Alinghi (SUI) Tanguy Cariou 98 points
2. Luna Rossa (ITA) Max Sirena 94 points
3. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan 86 points
4. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec 81 points
5. Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie 69.5 points
6. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara 66 points
7. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel 65.5 points
8. Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier 59 points
9. Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams 52 points
10. Team Extreme ‘Sailing Seacily‘ (EUR) Sebbe Godefroid 40 points

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/36638.php

The Extreme 40 crews have been tested to the limit in the breezy conditions that have dominated Act 5, and it has been a case of ‘taming the 40-foot beast’ to the best of their abilities.

By the time racing started later than usual at 16:40 BST the wind had dropped to the teens. “It was quite windy, gusting to almost 20 knots so it wasn’t nearly as ‘extreme’ as we have had for the rest of this week: nice and flat water as well which made the tacking and boat handling a little easier, so you didn’t see too many rudders out of the water today, but still a windy day and a hard day to battle a boat around the course,” described Luna Rossa helmsman Paul Campbell-James.

Alinghi helmsman Tanguy Cariou said that in the conditions it was still hard work on board, “It was really physical, really tough for us especially at the end as you had to come in so close to the shore before tacking it was quite difficult, but I think we were quite solid and I think anything could happen tomorrow.”

The 11 Extreme 40s were divided into groups as the conditions on the penultimate day were still on the limit to race the fleet in one group with reefed mainsails but gennakers permitted after the first two races much to the publics delight. With half of the fleet racing at a time, the tactical objective for the crews was to get as far into the shore as possible on the beat to make the best of the favourable eddy off Eygpt Point and definitely out of the 2.5 knot counter current offshore. As Campbell-James put it, “There was one way to do it – to come off the line, hit the beach and push your luck on the rocks. Whoever nailed that strategy was the guy who usually came up in first at the windward mark.”

The most tense moments came on the first beat of each race when the Extreme 40s would get as close as possible into shore and occasionally not get enough room to tack. But despite some hair-raising moments none of the boats went aground.

In fact it was the strong tide that proved the major stumbling block with several crews underestimating the angle of the rope tethering the weather mark. As a result several snagged it on their rudders causing them to pop up, perhaps the most dramatic being when Luna Rossa careered off downwind seeming to gybe twice accidentally before they got their Extreme 40 under control.

Campbell-James described it, “We just skimmed the windward mark on the way round and that popped the leeward rudder up. It was pretty dangerous in the big breeze with the one rudder in and one out, so we got to the leeward marks and we stuck it head to wind, did our penalty while putting the rudder back down. It was all a bit of a drama, but we managed it. Alister [Richardson] hurt his back a little bit a bit in the process.”

Team Extreme suffered the same fate in the third race and crewman Benedikt Wenk cut his hand as he attempted to get the rudder back down. Wenk required a couple of stitches and Roland Gaebler’s team had to retire from racing for the day.

Star of today’s competition was ex-Tornado sailor Pierre Pennec and the crew of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who won three of their four races. Their third race was the tightest of the day with Leigh McMillian at the helm of The Wave, Muscat first to the top mark with the French team on their transom. There were whoops from the crowd ashore as the French crew came close to rolling past their Omani rivals. However, the real coup for the French team came on the second run when The Wave, Muscat crew thought they had crossed the finish line only to find that the race had been extended to finish on the next upwind leg. This wavering allowed the French team to overhaul them and to take their third bullet of their day by a matter of centimetres.

Alinghi won their third race of the day and Tanguy Cariou was satisfied with their performance. “Today it was quite good, quite solid team work and good manoeuvres. We fought well against the other opponents.” In contrast it wasn’t such a good day for the Italian team on Luna Rossa who prior to their rudder incident at the top mark had suffered a broken outhaul shortly after the start of the first race.

At the close of play The Wave, Muscat continues to lead with a margin of 10 points on Luna Rossa, Alinghi third with Groupe Edmond de Rothschild fourth, now just six point shy of the podium. But as Paul Campbell-James points out it could inevitably once again come to tomorrow’s double points-scoring final race. “Leigh is in front of us as he had a really good day today, so we’ve just got to put in a solid day tomorrow and see what happens in the double points last race,” said Campbell-James. “Basically it will be man against man with Leigh which I have been doing since I was nine years old!”

The weather forecast for tomorrow is looking good – 11-15 knots and sunshine, which will mean the Extreme 40s can, once again, race as one fleet for the for the final day of Act 5.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 5 at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week
Current overall standings, day 6 (11.8.11)
Position / Team / Skipper / Points
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan 138 points
2nd Luna Rossa (ITA) Max Sirena 128 points
3rd Alinghi (SUI) Tanguy Cariou 117 points
4th Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec 111 points*
5th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) Roman Hagara 104 points
6th Oman Air (OMA) Sidney Gavignet 101 points
7th Team GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams 93 points*
8th Niceforyou (ITA) Alberto Barovier 81 points
9th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Adam Beashel 73 points
10th Aberdeen Asset Management (GBR) John Pink 69 points
11th Team Extreme (EUR) Roland Gaebler 51 points
12th Artemis Racing (SWE) Santiago Lange 23 points*
*Penalised.

For further information about Act 5 in Cowes, log on to www.extremesailingseries.com

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/36473.php

“You are in the fortunes of the guy up above and you have to deal with what you get,” said Barker. “I think we are sailing better and better but you never come off the water feeling like you had a great day, you just feel like you are surviving.”

The big move of the day though came from The Wave, Muscat, helmed by the youngest skipper on the circuit, Torvar Mirsky, moving into third place. Also deserving recognition is the Swiss team of Alinghi who got their campaign back on the road after yesterday’s crash.

A total of ten races were staged on the penultimate day of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 3 in Istanbul – starting with one-on-one speed duals and finishing after eight closely-fought fleet races. The breeze started off at around 10 knots combined with stronger gusts – perfect conditions for the speed duals – then softened throughout the afternoon dictating a less frenetic pace than yesterday.

Going into the tenth and final race, Emirates Team New Zealand and Artemis Racing were tied on 217 points, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild on 214. Barker led from start to finish, Terry Hutchinson’s team could only manage fifth place and Pierre Pennec’s men ninth, after a penalty on the first upwind leg, setting the stage for the final showdown.

Max Sirena’s team on Luna Rossa also started the final race on equal points with The Wave, Muscat but it went wrong from the start as they found themselves on the wrong side of the start line and The Wave, Muscat escaped finishing in third place to elevate them to third in the overall rankings.

Tomorrow will decide who will win here in Istanbul. Up to 100 points could be won and five teams are in contention for overall victory with just 13 points separating them. “Everything can change,” said Barker. “It’s nice to be leading going into the final day but you’re only as good as your next race. With another seven to eight races tomorrow anything can happen.”

And certainly still able to make the podium is Roman Hagara’s (AUT) Red Bull Extreme Sailing on 187, Team Extreme with points for redress (compensation for their crash) on 177.6 (they get 5.2 points per race). Oman Air after a mixed day of good and bad races is on 170, with Alinghi on 161. Team GAC Pindar had some great moments and, at 160 points, has held off Niceforyou on 153 points.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 3 Istanbul Standings

Position / Team / Points
1 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) – 228 points
2 – Artemis Racing (SWE) – 224 points
3 – The Wave, Muscat (OMA) – 218 points
4 – Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) – 217 points
5 – Luna Rossa (ITA) – 215 points
6 – Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) – 187 points
7 – Team Extreme (EUR) – 177.6 points
8 – Oman Air (OMA) – 170 points
9 – Alinghi (SUI) – 161 points
10 – Team GAC Pindar (GBR) – 160 points
11 – Niceforyou (ITA) – 153 points

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/36019.php

In gusty conditions, approaching the top mark, Alinghi piled into Team Extreme in the fourth race of the day. It was a classic port/starboard incident, as Alinghi tried to bear away behind Team Extreme but rather than make it, instead accelerated in to the stern of Roland Gaebler’s (GER) Team Extreme.

The noise of the impact was heard over 500 metres away in the race village, and a crewman from each of the boats was hurled into the water:

“It was a massive and very loud crash,” said Gaebler. “It was scary, its 1.2 tons of boat crashing into each other. It’s so loud you cannot imagine. It’s like driving a car going from 200km/h to zero, the boat stopped in a second.”

From Alinghi, Yves Detrey, was taken off the boat just after the crash with an injury to his left arm but this was soon confirmed as not serious. “We started the day under pressure after two bad races,” said Alinghi skipper Tanguy Cariou (FRA). “We tried to bear away, we lost control of the boat and had big collision. I fell in the water and the bowman hit the winch. We are of course disappointed and sorry for Team Extreme, we had a big crash, but its part of the game.”

With a long night in the pitlane, both boats still hope to make tomorrow’s start line.

Watch the extraordinary video footage here.

With a large hole in the back of the port hull, Team Extreme was kept afloat by a support RIB. They were towed to the technical area and craned out immediately. Both Alinghi, with bowsprit damage, and Team Extreme were out of the game for the rest of the day. The pitlane will be buzzing tonight as the support teams battle to get the boats back racing tomorrow.

The Extreme 40 fleet contested more races today than ever before – there will be some tired pro sailors tonight. The demanding conditions and intense competition in the Stadium Sailing format, produced plenty of scrapes and bumps.

Alinghi were hit at the start of the first race by Emirates Team New Zealand and again by Artemis Racing and the umpires were kept busy refereeing the 11-boat fleet.

Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis Racing were leading this morning but after losing and regaining the lead several times, they have now been relegated to second place overall by France’s Groupe Edmond de Rothschild as Pierre Pennec’s (FRA) team put in a strong performance with two first places and two second places.

There is just one point in it though, and very close behind in third, just eight points back, is Dean Barker’s Emirates Team New Zealand, “Each day is like a regatta, if you’re in the top four at the end of the day then you have a chance of winning,” said Ray Davies, coaching Emirates Team New Zealand at Act 3.

Luna Rossa now lie in fourth place after 22 races as The Wave, Muscat and Red Bull Extreme Sailing climb one place each. The top six boats all still have a real chance of climbing on the podium on Sunday night – with as many as 200 points potentially still up for grabs.

It’s been the best Act so far this year for Team GAC Pindar, with a well earned 7th place, as Ian Williams’ team continue to find their groove, followed by Oman Air and Niceforyou tied on 112 points. Alinghi are now on 111 points and Team Extreme on 88 but with possible redress to come after being taken out by Alinghi in the big crash of the day.

Position / Team / Points
1 – Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) – 171 points
2 – Artemis Racing (SWE) – 170 points
3 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) – 163 points
4 – Luna Rossa (ITA) – 156 points
5 – The Wave, Muscat (OMA) – 153 points
6 – Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) – 140 points
7 – Team GAC Pindar (GBR) – 121 points
8 – Niceforyou (ITA) – 112 points
9 – Oman Air (OMA) – 112 points
10 – Alinghi (SUI) – 111 points
11 – Team Extreme (EUR) – 88 points

Article source: http://www.sailing.org/36013.php

BMW ORACLE Racing wins the 33rd America’s Cup

Monday, February 15, 2010

The America’s Cup is heading to the United States as BMW ORACLE Racing has defeated Alinghi in the 33rd Match to win the oldest prize in international sport. It was an historic America’s Cup Match featuring two of the most innovative boats on the planet. In the event, BMW ORACLE Racing’s trimaran, powered by the largest wing sail ever built, overpowered Alinghi in both races…

The America’s Cup is heading to the United States as BMW ORACLE Racing has defeated Alinghi in the 33rd Match to win the oldest prize in international sport.

It was an historic America’s Cup Match featuring two of the most innovative boats on the planet. In the event, BMW ORACLE Racing’s trimaran, USA, powered by the largest wing sail ever built, proved to be the faster of the two multihulls, overpowering Alinghi’s catamaran, A5, in both races.

For BMW ORACLE Racing team founder and owner Larry Ellison, the win was the culmination of a 10-year quest for the America’s Cup. Ellison, who often sailed with the team as a member of the afterguard in previous editions of the Cup, was on board the boat for the second race.

“It is a fabulous experience. I am very proud to be part of this team and I am exceptionally proud to bring the America’s Cup back to the United States of America for the first time in a very long time,” Ellison said following the race.

Team CEO Russell Coutts wins the Cup for the fourth time, while skipper James Spithill is the youngest skipper to win the title in 159 years of America’s Cup sailing.

For Alinghi, the loss concludes an historic episode in the America’s Cup, which began in 2003 when the Swiss team, representing the Société Nautique de Genève, defeated Team New Zealand to bring the America’s Cup to Europe for the first time. Alinghi was successful in defending its title in the 2007 Match, but couldn’t repeat as Defender against BMW ORACLE Racing in 2010.

“I am very proud of what we achieved over the last nine years…” said Alinghi owner and skipper Ernesto Bertarelli. “We didn’t have a boat which was quite fast enough, but with the boat we had, with the odds we had we did our best to show that we were not going to lay down. We exit with our heads high

With the win, BMW ORACLE Racing, representing San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club, became the first U.S. challenger to win the Match since Dennis Conner hoisted the Cup with his Stars Stripes team in Fremantle, Australia in 1987. It was also the first win for an American team since 1992 when Bill Koch’s America3 successfully defended the Cup in San Diego.

The day after the historic win, BMW ORACLE Racing and the Golden Gate Yacht Club announced the Challenger of Record for the 34th America’s Cup would be the Club Nautico di Roma and its Mascalzone Latino  Team.The America’s Cup is heading to the United States as BMW ORACLE Racing has defeated Alinghi in the 33rd Match to win the oldest prize in international sport.

Article source: http://www.americascup.com/news/bmw-oracle-racing-wins-the-33rd-america-s-cup_9