April 13, 2011

 
Photo:©2012 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget

From America's Cup Event Authority:

Spithill Closes the Gap and Luna Rossa is Half the Final Four

Oracle Racing Spithill closes the gap on the Kiwis while Luna Rossa places two teams in Match Race Final Four

Naples offered a new challenge to the nine crews competing in the America’s Cup World Series on Friday as light, shifty offshore winds battled an onshore swell, resulting in a race course where gains and losses were often measured in the hundreds of yards.

Oracle Racing Spithill had the best day across the two fleet races, posting two second-place finishes.  In contrast, each race winner (Energy Team, Emirates Team New Zealand) also carried a seventh place score on the day.  As a result, Jimmy Spithill’s American team gained four points on the leading Kiwis, nearly cutting their lead in half over the course of the day.

“It was really hard,” said Chris Draper, the helmsman of Luna Rossa Piranha, who led his team to a consistent 3-4 performance.  “The swell made it hard, surfing upwind and then straight into the waves downwind So to get the results we did, I'm really pleased with our guys, they did a great job.”

China Team, struggling to this point, also stood out on the day.  Although skipper Fred Le Peutrec’s team has yet to finish out of ninth place, on Friday their starts were outstanding and the team was among the early leaders in both races.  After that however, the quality of the fleet was simply too strong for the new Chinese squad.

"Good starts, yes, but not good races,” he said after racing.  “We are a bit frustrated by the wind shifts, but anyway, two good starts Unlucky with the wind, but that's the game."

Following the two fleet races, the remaining two Match Racing Quarterfinals were completed.  Emirates Team New Zealand found itself pushed deep into the standings by Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis Racing, who found the right shifts in the tricky conditions to earn a lopsided victory.  While Artemis advances to the Semi Finals, the Kiwis are forced to settle for a disappointing eighth place. 

“It is nice to be able to gain some points on them for the overall World Series,” Hutchinson said.  “But looking at the big picture, we still have a lot of work to do.”

In the other Quarter Final, Luna Rossa Swordfish won a close match over Energy Team, becoming the second Italian crew to qualify for the Semi Finals.

“For the team, it’s a great result for both boats to be in the top four,” said Manuel Modena, the trimmer on Luna Rossa Swordfish.  “I hope we can both make it to the Final.  Both our crews have the ability, but I would like to win if we both make it.”

The program for Saturday starts with the Match Racing Semi Finals and Final followed by two Fleet Races.  The start of the first match is scheduled for 1330 CEST.

Fleet Racing Championship - Provisional Standings Day Three (after six races):

1.  Emirates Team New Zealand (Skipper: Dean Barker); 52 points
2.  Oracle Racing - Spithill (Skipper: James Spithill); 47 points
3.  Luna Rossa - Piranha (Helmsman: Chris Draper); 42 points
4.  Team Korea (Skipper: Nathan Outteridge); 39 points
5.  Energy Team (Skipper: Yann Guichard); 39 points
6.  Luna Rossa - Swordfish (Helmsman: Paul Campbell-James); 35 points
7.  Oracle Racing - Bundock (Skipper: Darren Bundock); 28 points
8.  Artemis Racing (Skipper: Terry Hutchinson); 20 points
9.  China Team (Skipper: Fred Le Peutrec); 8 points

Match Racing Championship Provisional Results:

QF3 - Artemis Racing beat Emirates Team New Zealand
QF4 - Luna Rossa Swordfish beat Energy Team

Emirates Team New Zealand finishes eighth in the Match Racing Championship; Artemis Racing advances to SF1. 

Energy Team finishes fifth in the Match Racing Championship; Luna Rossa Swordfish advances to SF1

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From Oracle Racing:

Oracle Racing Spithill Goes 2 and 2 In Friday's Fleet Racing

Photo:©2012 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget

Oracle Racing Spithill rebounded from yesterday’s uneven showing by placing 2-2 in today’s two fleet races at the ACWS Naples.

The two seconds achieved in patchy wind conditions helped Oracle Racing Spithill to almost halve the deficit it faced at the end of yesterday.  The Spithill crew holds second, 5 points behind Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker) with six of nine scheduled fleet races completed.

“It was a better day today,” said skipper Jimmy Spithill.  “It was a little bit of a minefield out there, but at the end of the day I thought JK (John Kostecki, tactician) did a good job on the breeze and the boys were solid with the boathandling.”

Video recap: Jimmy Spithill and Darren Bundock comment on ACWS Naples Day 3

Naples was expected to be a light-air venue but so far it has served up a mixed bag of conditions.  The first day saw choppy seas and winds gusting over 20 knots followed yesterday by sunshine, smooth seas and light winds.

Today the wind blew offshore from the east amid heavy rain at times, turning the racecourse around and creating large windless patches that served to separate the leaders from the rest of the fleet.  In the second race there was a four-minute gap from first to fourth and more than six and a half minutes to ninth.

“It was a very, very difficult day, but the biggest thing is to remain calm in those situations,” said Spithill.  “It’s easy to get frustrated; you just have to chip away.  Like yesterday, nothing we seemed to do was right, but then we turned it around today and I’m happy with the guys that they bounced back.”

Oracle Racing Bundock scored a 4-6 on the day and holds seventh in the standings with 28 points, the crew’s standing hampered from having to sit out Fleet Race 2 on Wednesday with hull damage.

“We struggled to get off the start line again and were getting bounced around a bit by the other teams,” skipper Darren Bundock said.  “We could see Jimmy and the leaders up at the front, and once again the leaders got further and further away.  Once you’re down in the back you get pushed around and you can’t sail your own race.  So it’s a bit tough down there.”

Oracle Racing Bundock is set to be on the water early tomorrow as before Fleet Races 8 and 9 are sailed, the semifinal and final of the of the match racing championship will be contested.  Oracle Racing Bundock will square off against Italy’s Luna Rossa Piranha (Chris Draper), with the winner advancing to meet either Sweden’s Artemis Racing (Terry Hutchinson) or Luna Rossa Swordfish (Paul Campbell-James) in the final.

Oracle Racing Bundock advanced to the semis yesterday when the quintet knocked their stable mates on Oracle Racing Spithill out of the match race part of the competition.

“Darren doesn’t take team orders very well,” joked Spithill, who at age 30 in 2010 was the youngest skipper to ever win the America’s Cup.  “Our main goal is to see Darren up there on the podium spraying the champagne around.  These guys have done a nice job in match race training.  They gave it to us yesterday, and there should be some exciting racing coming up.”

Sunday’s Fleet Race 9 Finale will award significant points (50 for 1st, 30 for 2nd, 20 for 3rd) and leaves the Naples championship within the grasp of nearly every crew in the fleet.

--©2012 Oracle Racing

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From Emirates Team New Zealand:

Naples Breeze Plays No Favorites

Photo:©2012 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget

A light and fickle off-shore breeze and a difficult seaway left-over from strong  winds of previous days played no favorites on the third day of the Americas Cup World Series, Naples.

First the wind turned the race program upside down.  Match races between Emirates Team New Zealand and Artemis and Energy Team v Luna Rossa S were delayed until after two fleet races were sailed.

Heavy rain played havoc with the breeze; it was unstable shifty and puffy and with huge holes and it did not build as the afternoon wore on.  All the teams suffered, a fact shown in the inconsistent up and down placings in the fleet races..

At 1.30pm, scheduled starting time for the match racing, there was just not enough wind across the course to get a start.

Fleet races started at 2.15.  And the breeze turned the form guide upside down.  Energy Team won from Oracle Racing 4.  Emirates Team New Zealand was seventh, having been penalized twice and on the wrong side of a couple of windshifts. 

Energy Team, which won the first race, could manage only a seventh in race six and was 6m 14s behind Barker and crew at the finish. 

We finished the day with our overall lead intact - having won four of the six fleet races and is five points ahead of Oracle Racing 4. 

In fleet race five we were over at the start.  The resulting penalty took them back through the fleet; then a second penalty was awarded at the mark as the wind died and the fleet bunched and almost stopped and lost steerage.

From the back of the fleet, we threaded our way to seventh at the finish to collect valuable points.

Skipper Dean Barker says he was pleased with the way the boys got stuck in and picked up some valuable points.

Every point counts.  Who knows how it will play out by Sunday afternoon?  A single point could decide the regatta.

Race six was the complete opposite of the one that went before.  A good start, well-placed in the fleet.  Barker, tactician Ray Davies, wing trimmer Glenn Ashby, bowman Winston Macfarlane and trimmer James Dagg had Jimmy Spithill on Oracle 4 in their sights.  By leg six they had passed the boats in front overtook Spithill. 

Oracle 4 was 26s behind, followed by Luna Rossa S at 57.  Then the breeze showed its hand.  Fourth placed boat was 4m38s adrift of  the lead.  The last boat to cross was 6m32s off the pace.  That was the breeze, not the boats and not the crew. 

Our match race with Artemis followed.  Artemis took the lead early on the first run when we ran out of breeze.  And that was it.  With boat speeds down to 2 and three knots and times there was not [a] chance of catching the Swedes.

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From Artemis Racing:

Team Update: Day 3 Report

Photo:©2012 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget

Rain, rain, rain, and lighter air conditions were the order of the day in Naples as the third day of the Americas Cup World Series got underway.

Artemis Racing shone in the match racing, defeating Emirates Team New Zealand to move to the semi-finals tomorrow, but struggled in the fleet racing.

On the whole, we had a pretty tough day, particularly getting off the line.  Its difficult when you get tangled up.  Even if guys are over the line, they are in front of you and it is difficult to get past in the short amount of time you have to the reach mark.  We had two tough fleet races, but it was nice to finish on a high, by beating Emirates Team New Zealand in the match race, said wing trimmer Rodney Ardern (NZL).

Recounting Race 1, Skipper Terry Hutchinson (USA) said: “In the first race we had a reasonable spot on the start line then one of the Oracle Racing boats fouled us at about six seconds.  But, we battled back and were going around the track in fourth and everything was going well.  Then on the last run, we gybed simultaneously with Luna Rossa, yet lost two boats to finish sixth.”

“As for the second fleet race, it will be interesting to see the video as we were called over, but it certainly didn’t feel like we were over.  It was a tough battle from there.  That was a bit unfortunate as we were the last one called in the sequence.  It was a good effort on everyone’s part to remain composed, take the lumps when we did and keep fighting hard.  The hardest part about the day is that I don’t feel that we are sailing as badly as our results reflect in the fleet racing,” continued Terry.

Artemis Racing is first up in the match racing semi-finals tomorrow against Luna Rossa Swordfish, followed by two fleet races on what promises to be another windy day on the Gulf of Naples.

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