May 19, 2012

A fish with an appetite: Luna Rossa Piranha climbed into second place in the Venice Fleet Race standings Saturday, and beat Oracle4 Spithill in the Match Race Semi-Finals. Photo:©2012 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
 

From America's Cup Event Authority:

Leader Board Closes Up With One Race to Go in Venice

Energy Team remains atop the Venice Fleet Race standings by 1 point. Photo:©2012 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
 

Very close, tight, and tactically challenging racing was the attraction for the largest spectator fleet the AC World Series has enjoyed to date on Saturday afternoon.  The Venetian crowds lined the waterfront and took to the Grand Canal by the thousands to cheer on the AC45 crews. 

Winds were light, but the race course was very short and demanding on the teams.  Luna Rossa Swordfish pleased the local crowds by winning the first fleet race and momentarily grabbing the overall lead in the regatta.  But the early heroes fell to the back of the fleet in race two, allowing Loïck Peyron’s Energy Team to retain overall leadership heading into Sunday’s final race. 

Artemis Racing had a very strong showing on Saturday, with skipper Terry Hutchinson grinding out a fifth place finish in the first contest before winning the second. 

“It was hard work,” a relieved Hutchinson said following the race.  “The guys on board today have done really good work.  It was a tough night's sleep last night because I knew I'd let us down yesterday, so it's nice to get it right today.  It was an absolute fight the entire time, but the guys did their work really well.”

Phil Robertson, at 25 the youngest skipper in the fleet, had a good day for China Team, with fourth and eighth place finishes.  It was the first time in the event China Team was able to hold a good early position through to the race finish.  And the day could have been better as Robertson and crew were in second place early in the second contest, before falling back to eighth. 

Later in the afternoon, Artemis Racing and Luna Rossa - Piranha advanced to the Final of the Match Racing Championship.  Both teams are now in position to ‘win the double’ if they can capture both the Fleet and Match Racing Championships on Sunday. 

The AC500 Speed Trials are scheduled for 1350 CEST.  Racing starts at 1440 CEST on Sunday with the Match Racing Final a one race duel for the title, followed by the seventh and final fleet race (1510 CEST), where the winner earns a whopping 30 points, enough for anyone in the top seven in the standings to have a chance of winning the title. 

“The way the points work in the fleet racing it's all about tomorrow,” confirmed Team Korea’s Nathan Outteridge, currently in seventh place, but still with a chance winning overall on Sunday.  “We've learned a lot this week and it's all about going high risk tomorrow.  I think everyone will have the same attitude.  We haven't been dialing up the risk enough yet.  You dial it up, and you're either going to get it right or wrong that’s what we’ve got to do tomorrow.”

Fleet Racing Championship Provisional Leaderboard (after six races)

1.  Energy Team 44 points
2.  Luna Rossa Piranha 43 points
3.  Luna Rossa Swordfish 43 points
4.  Emirates Team New Zealand 42 points
5.  Oracle Team USA Spithill 38 points
6.  Artemis Racing 37 points
7.  Team Korea 37 points
8.  Oracle Team USA Bundock 22 points
9.  China Team 18 points

Match Racing Championship

Semi-Final Results
Semi Final 1:
Artemis Racing defeated Energy Team; 2-0

Semi Final 2:
Luna Rossa Piranha defeated Oracle Team USA Spithill; 2-1

The losers of the Semi-Final and Quarter-Final matches have been assigned final finishing positions (3rd through 9th) in the Match Racing Championship as per the Sailing Instructions.

3.  Oracle Team USA - Spithill
4.  Energy Team
5.  Emirates Team New Zealand
6.  Team Korea
7.  Luna Rossa Swordfish
8.  Oracle Team USA - Bundock
9.  China Team

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From Oracle Team USA:

Spithill Wins Day on Grand Canal

Photo:©2012 ACEA/Gilles Martin-Raget
 

Oracle Team USA Spithill placed second and third in today’s two fleet races at ACWS Venice to win the day.  The turn-around from Thursday’s and Friday’s performances helped move Jimmy Spithill’s crew into fifth place on the leaderboard heading into tomorrow’s high-points fleet race finale.

With just 7 points separating the top seven in the standings, the winner of tomorrow’s finale will win the ACWS Venice Championship.  The race awards 30 points for first place and 20 points for second, enough for any one of the top seven to leapfrog current leader Energy Team of France.

The good spirits were tempered afterwards when the Spithill quintet lost to Luna Rossa Piranha, 2-1, in the semifinal round of the match racing championship.  Oracle Team USA Spithill is guaranteed third place in the match racing championship, valuable points towards the season championship.

“We sailed better today, particularly downwind,” said Spithill.  “The match racing was unfortunate.  We had our chances, but to be honest we weren’t good enough.”

Similar to yesterday, the fleet races were held on the Grand Canal of Venice with the finish line placed off St Mark’s Square.  Thousands of spectators jammed into “La Piazza” and lined the drive along the canal, while many more filled up the floating grandstand to one side of the racecourse.  Still hundreds more were rafted up in private boats, enjoying the racing and warm temperatures.

“It’s awesome the support that’s here,” said Russell Coutts, CEO of Oracle Team USA, sailing as tactician on Oracle Team USA Bundock.  “I think people are appreciating that this event has come here.  It’s obviously very successful for the event and very successful for Venice.”

The winds were light, 6 to 8 knots, and the racecourse tended to be one-sided.  Crews often rounded the leeward gate to port, setting up for a one or two-tack leg to the windward mark.  In the second race, the course was so short that the leaders completed many of the legs in two and a half minutes or less.

Part of Spithill’s success today was being free of pre-race commitments, and his crew able to apply total concentration to the racing.

Oracle Team USA Bundock remained in eighth place in the standings.  The crew led by skipper Darren Bundock had a nice start lined up in the first race but was on the course side at the starting signal.  The ensuing penalty placed the crew too far behind in the light air and short course.

“It was a pretty disappointing day, frustrating in fact because it’s not the result we want or we're used to,” said Bundock.  “Yes, we’ve had some crew changes and most of the other teams have been pretty consistent, so that's probably a factor.

“But we haven't been getting off the start line well.  It's a very tight space and here in the Canal there is a current which sweeps you towards the line.  Once you're behind, the course was pretty much a one way track up and down the boundary, so the opportunities were minimal,” Bundock said.

Crew Lists
Oracle Team USA Spithill – Jimmy Spithill (skipper/helmsman) John Kostecki (tactician), Kyle Langford (wingsail trimmer), Joe Newton (headsail trimmer), Brad Webb (bowman)
Oracle Team USA Bundock – Darren Bundock (skipper/helmsman), Russell Coutts (tactician), Dirk de Ridder (wingsail trimmer), Simon Daubney (headsail trimmer), Simeon Tienpont (bowman)

--©2012 Oracle Team USA

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From Artemis Racing:

Artemis Racing Defeat Energy Team to Move Into Match Racing Finals

Photo:©2012 Chris Cameron/ETNZ
 

Artemis Racing was back in form today, winning one of the fleet races plus both match races against Loïck Peyron’s Energy Team, to progress to the Match Racing Finals tomorrow.

“Yesterday was disappointing, but we debriefed it intensely.  It was nice to come back today and sail in the way that we know how to sail.  It was a really good team day,” said Skipper Terry Hutchinson.

Having won the Match Racing in Naples a few weeks ago, Artemis leads the Match Racing Championships and is the only team to have been in the match racing semi-finals of each of the five World Series events to date.

Terry Hutchinson and the team will line up against Chris Draper's Luna Rossa Piranha in the finals first thing tomorrow, before the speed trials and Super Sunday fleet race.

“We were looking across today at one of the greatest legends in our sport in Loïck.  It wasn’t easy out there,” said Hutchinson.  “Tomorrow well be up against another really good, well sailed team in Luna Rossa.  Those guys are on their game.  We are going to have our work cut out for us.”

“Internally and externally we have high expectations for ourselves.  We also have a tremendous amount of experience in our team.  Within that we have to remind ourselves that we are actually a very new team.  We have been at this for 18 months, but that doesn’t seem to soften the expectations.  These opportunities and the pressure with the crew rotation are going to make us better.  I’m happy to give up a little in the short term with a view make the team strong, because I know that is going to be what makes us win the Americas Cup,” said Hutchinson.

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