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America’s Cup World Series
ORACLE Racing Spithill takes the double, winning today’s Fleet Racing Championship at the America’s Cup World Series in San Diego
lundi 21 novembre 2011 –
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ORACLE Racing Spithill, winners on Saturday of the Match Racing Championship, came from behind to win the Fleet Racing Championship, becoming the first team to secure a double win at the AC World Series. Once again, team principal Larry Ellison was on board with the team today.
“We really wanted to win the double,” said skipper James Spithill following the race. “We started okay, but got mixed up in the pack. But JK (tactician John Kostecki) got us back into it and then the boys did a fantastic job. We were able to stretch away and use our speed.”
It was Emirates Team New Zealand who exploded off the starting line to lead the fleet of nine AC45s into a tense, action-packed turn at the first mark just a few hundred yards away. While the Kiwi team led early, the long leg upwind allowed several teams to shine, none more so than Artemis Racing who worked their way up to the front of a very tight pack by the top gate.
But ORACLE Racing Spithill chose the favored mark at the top and was soon leading the fleet downwind at speeds near 25 knots, slowly extending away from the pack of boats giving chase. Artemis Racing had a near disaster at the bottom mark, their headsail not deploying cleanly, with a near-capsize dropping them well down the fleet.
While Spithill moved away from the fleet, Team Korea, Emirates Team New Zealand, Energy Team, and Aleph were locked in a dogfight for second place. The advantage was first with Korea and then the Kiwis, but the two were just yards apart for most of the race, until a poor gybe on Korea allowed the Kiwis and both French boat to go past. At the finish, it was Emirates Team New Zealand in second, with Energy Team just one second ahead of Aleph for third, and Team Korea in fifth.
Artemis Racing’s Terry Hutchinson made a late charge to take sixth place just one second ahead of China Team, with Green Comm Racing and ORACLE Racing Coutts at the back of the pack.
Earlier, in the AC500 Speed Trial, the fastest runs came on the teams’ second attempt down the course. First it was Emirates Team New Zealand setting the pace. But then came the ORACLE Racing juggernaut. First Spithill and then Darren Bundock, skippering ORACLE Racing Coutts, broke the record Record #sailingrecord , with Bundock’s speed of 26.87 knots standing up as the winning speed.
San Diego is the last event of the calendar year for the America’s Cup America's Cup #AmericasCup World Series. The teams will now have four months of winter training before the next AC World Series stop in Naples, Italy from April 7 to 15, 2012. Venice, Italy then follows from the 12 to 20 of May, 2012.
“We’re going to go to some fantastic venues,” said Regatta Director Iain Murray. “The ACWS has grown legs of its own, it has proven itself as a concept. It excites the people, we fit it into the geography of the bays, and creating the stadium racing means we can broadcast our racing from the inside out. I see the World Series going from strength to strength. The AC72s are starting to be built, teams are getting stronger and more confident. We’re heading towards some great events.”
“It is very easy to forget how far we’ve come in a very short space of time,” said Richard Worth, Chairman of the America’s Cup America's Cup #AmericasCup Event Authority. “Three months ago the America’s Cup World Series didn’t even exist. Now, we have had three spectacular events, thanks largely to our sailors, these sportsmen of outstanding quality. We have created a stunning sporting event. We saw that today, with some outstanding sport, inches between the boats at the end and real drama throughout. So through a very short space of time the America’s Cup World Series has absolutely come alive.”
Résultats – San Diego Fleet Racing Championship
- 1. ORACLE Racing Spithill
- 2. Emirates Team New Zealand
- 3. Energy Team
- 4. Aleph
- 5. Team Korea
- 6. Artemis Racing
- 7. China Team
- 8. Green Comm Racing
- 9. ORACLE Racing Coutts
Résultats – AC500 Speed Trials
- ORACLE Racing - Coutts - 26.87 nœuds
- ORACLE Racing - Spithill - 26.79 nœuds
- Emirates Team New Zealand - 26.56 nœuds
- Artemis Racing - 25.98 nœuds
- Energy Team - 25.96 nœuds
- China Team - 25.67 nœuds
- ALEPH - 25.19 nœuds
- Green Comm Racing - 24.74 nœuds
- Team Korea - 24.30 nœuds
America’s Cup World Series Overall Standings
Team (Country) Match – Fleet — Total Points
- 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 27 – 28 — 55
- 2. ORACLE Racing Spithill (USA) 26 – 28 — 54
- 3. Artemis Racing (SWE) 23 – 17 — 40
- 4. ORACLE Racing Coutts (USA) 18 – 18 — 36
- 4. Team Korea (KOR) 20 – 16 — 36
- 6. Energy Team (FRA) 19 – 16 — 35
- 7. Aleph (FRA) 12 – 19 — 31
- 8. Green Comm Racing (ESP) 11 – 12 — 23
- 9. China Team (CHN) 9 – 11 — 20
Dans la même rubrique
America’s Cup World Series : James Spithill sweep the Final to win in San Diego
AC45 World Series : Spithill and crew thrive to win treacherous Fleet Racing Championship in Plymouth
America’s Cup World Series : Emirates Team New Zealand claimed the 1st America’s Cup World Series in Cascais
