Medcup TP52 Circuit : Pisco Sour consolidate their lead with a 9 points advantage in the general rankings

22nd September 2005,(Porto Rotondo, Sardinia). Spirits were slightly dampened at the start of the second day’s racing in the last event in the Breitling MEDCUP, as persistent showers and a distinct lack of breeze took over the Sardinian Emerald Coast. The atmosphere on the quay of the Porto Rotondo Yacht Club left no doubt that despite the bad conditions there were still plenty of nerves for the nine teams competing, as the crews prepared themselves to fight hard for those final positions in the Breitling MEDCUP 2005 rankings.

Light unstable winds dominated in a heart-stopping day of racing for the TP 52 Class. The winner of the day was Pisco Sour, who were fast and furious against the rest. The Chilean vessel is owned by Cousiño, Matte and Orlyi and has Italian Vasco Vascotto at the helm, and the team are currently leading in the general rankings of the Circuit. Caixa Galicia, with John Kostecki as tactician, gave a great performance to win the second race with over one minute advantage over Pisco Sour.

Following their performance in both races today Pisco Sour reinforces their lead in the Breitling MEDCUP Circuit 2005. Bribon confirm her position as leader in the Corinthian Class for owner-drivers.

After a postponement of almost one hour, the fleet took the start line of the first windward-leeward race of the day. Tensions were high from the very start of the race, as Lexus, with America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts, and Pisco Sour, with Vasco Vascotto went head to head in a battle for the lead. There were two boats that stood out at the start - on the one hand Lexus for their determination, whilst closely marking the leaders in the Breitling MEDCUP, Pisco Sour, and on the other hand the US boat Sjambok, with Gavin Brady as Skipper and Dee Smith as tactician, for other reasons who performed a false start which positioned them at the back of the fleet for the rest of the race.

Vascotto and Coutts match racing experience was clearly a deciding factor in the first upwind leg, reflected in the head to head race between the two vessels who took the first mark in first (Pisco) and third (Lexus-Quantum) place, with Caixa Galicia pushing themselves cleverly in between the two to take the mark in second place. In fourth place was the Irish vessel Patches, who have Olympic and America’s Cup (Emirates Team New Zealand) star Ben Ainslie at the helm, followed in fifth place by a superbly driven Aifos.

In the next leg, the Chilean vessel Pisco Sour reinforced their lead, and Lexus overtook the Spanish team Caixa Galicia who fell back a position following a good tactical call by Patches. Aifos were in fifth place at this point, ahead of Bribon who had HM King Juan Carlos I at the helm. As the boats were setting course for the second upwind stretch a sudden change in wind direction which allowed the TPs at the head of the fleet were hoisting their spinnakers, forced the Race Committee to declare the race finished. In this first windward-leeward race, Pisco Sour took a great win after a tough attack from Russell Coutts and team who finished in second place, followed by Caixa Galicia, Bribon, Patches, Aifos, Orlanda-Olympus, Sjambok who gained a position, and Balearia in last place.

Caixa Galicia takes a fantastic win

In the second race of the day things took a sharp change, as Caixa Galicia made all the right decisions to take the first mark in first place with an amazing one minute advantage over Sjambok, Pisco Sour, and Bribon, whereas Lexus seemed to not quite able to get the tactics right and put themselves in last place at this point. Surprise struck in the third buoy as Coutts gave all an example of his magic touch, by getting up into fourth position behind Pisco Sour, and the USA’s Sjambok. Bribon finished in fifth place, followed by Ireland’s Patches, then Aifos, Orlanda and Balearia. After plenty of position changes at the back of the fleet the three leaders crossed the finish line with Spain’s Caixa Galicia in first place followed by Pisco Sour.

• General Nanking after 3 races. Copa Audi

 1. Pisco Sour. Vasco Vascotto. 9+9+8+=26 puntos
 2. Lexus. Russell Coutts 7+8++7=22
 3. Caixa Galicia. Roberto Bermudez 5+7+9=21
 4. Patches. Ian Walker. 8+5+4 =17
 5. Bribón. S.M. Don Juan Carlos. 4+6+5=15
 6. Sjambok.Gavin Brady. 6+2+6 =14
 7. Aifos. Iñaki Castañar. 3+4+3=10
 8. Orlanda-Olympus. Lorenzo Bressanni. 2+3+2 =7
 9. Balearia. Antonio Gorostegui.1+1+1+=3

• Clasificación general Circuito Breitling MEDCUP –tras 35 regatas disputadas-

 1. Pisco Sour. Vasco Vascotto.234 puntos
 2. Lexus. Russell Coutts 225
 3. Caixa Galicia. Roberto Bermúdez 216
 4. Bribón. S.M. Don Juan Carlos. 176
 5. Orlanda-Olympus. Lorenzo Bressani. 175
 6. Atlanti. Paul Cayard. 169
 7. Bambakou. John Coumantaros. 149
 8. Cristabella. John Cook. 115
 9. Aifos. Ricardo Maldonado. 83
 10. Siemens. Jim Allsop. 41
 11. Balearia. Antonio Gorostegui. 20
 12. Patches. Ian Walker. 17
 13. Sjambok.Gavin Brady. 14

7th August, 2005. Russell Coutts, Mark Reynolds and Peter Islerwin the Copa del Rey

The very first Copa del Rey for the Transpac Class now has an owner : LEXUS-Quantum Racing has written a page in sporting history, by winning one of the most coveted trophies in international sport.

The close competition and similarity of the vessels has been a key feature in the Breitling MEDCUP TP52 Circuit, and as ever it has been a dominating aspect of today’s racing, the final day of the Copa del Rey.

There was a out and out war between Movistar, with the Vascotto-Campos duo onboard, and Lexus, with Russell Coutts, Mark Reynolds and Peter Isler. The battle appeared to have been won by movistar at first, until a great mistake with a manoeuvre meant that the lead in the general rankings went to Lexus. Orlanda-Olympus closed the Copa del Rey with a well deserved victory in the last race of the regatta.

FOUR CONTENDERS FOR ONE CUP

The signs were clear, that this was going to be a truly breathtaking day, with four vessels : Movistar, with Vascotto-Campos, Lexus-Quantum Racing, Coutts, Atalanti with Cayard and Barker, and Caixa Galicia with Bermudez de Castro all in a close battle which even the America’s Cup would have been proud of. Although the start was fairly calm, this wouldn’t be the case for the rest of the race. Lexus-Quantum, with three times America’s Cup winner, Russell Coutts at the helm, protected the right side of the course, along with Caixa Galicia, and the Greek vessel, Atalanti XV with duo Cayard-Barker onboard, whilst the left side of the course was chosen by Vasco Vascotto on Movistar.

The first windward mark of the race was the first indicatuion of the excitement to come, with light southerly winds blowing as Orlanda Olympus rounded the mark first, followed Orlanda-Olympus with Tomasso Chieffi, then the Americans Bambakou, Movistar, Cristabella, Caixa Galicia, Bribón, Atalanti and Lexus. The last group to round the mark was made up of Aifos, Siemens and Balearia.

Although it seemed at the first mark that victory would go to Vascotto and team, surprise arrived at the moment the spinnakers were lowered, as Movistar suffered the loss of many positions as they committed a crucial manoeuvre error, dashing their hopes of winning the coveted Copa del Rey.

With Orlanda Olympus leading in the race, the clash between the four contenders was reduced to a tacking battle between Russell Coutts and Paul Cayard, setting the pace of this decisive race.

Orlanda stayed ahead throughout the race, with Bambakou 24 seconds behind, and Caixa Galicia 30 seconds away. In fourth place Atalanti XV fought with all their might to distance themselves from Lexus, who rounded in fifth place, while Movistar said goodbye to the race.

The last leg was a true match race encounter between Atalanti XV with paul Cayard, and Emirates Team New Zealand star Dean Barker on Lexus-Quantum. Nerves of steel and perfect precision dominated in the last leg. Lexus controlled Movistar from a distance and kept a close eye on Cayard’s team.

At the finish line victory belonged to Lexus, although Orlanda Olympus crossed first, followed by an extraordinary Caixa Galicia, Bambakou, Atalanti XV, Lexus, Cristabella, Bribón, Movistar, Aifos, Siemens and Balearia.

Victory in the Corinthian Class went to Bribón with José Cusí, followed by Cristabella owned by John Cook, Bambakou, with owner-driver John Coumantaros and the Sapnish Royal Navy boat Aifos

In the Breitling MEDCUP general rankings the lead is still in the hands of Pisco Sour- Movistar, with Caixa Galicia, owned by Vicente Tirado second , followed by Lexus Quantum, owned by Jaime Yllera.

• Rankings Copa del Rey-Agua Brava

 1.Lexus Quantum Racing 5, 11, 11, 11,7, 7,7, 7(66)
 2.Atalanti XV 4, 9, 8, 9,9, 10, 8, 8 (65)
 3. MoviStar 10, 10, 5, 6, 8, 11, 10, 4 (64)
 4. Caixa Galicia 11, 8, 10, 8, 4,9,4, 10 (64)
 5. Orlanda-Olympus 3, 4, 7, 7, 10, 8, 9,11 (59)
 6. Bribón 7, 3, 4, 5, 11, 5, 11, 5 (51)
 7. Cristabella 8, 7, 9, 10, 1,2, 5,6, (48)
 8. Bambakou 6, 6, 6, 4,6, 3, 2, 9 (42)
 9.Siemens 9, 2, 2, 2, 2, 6, 3, 2 (28)
 10. Aifos 2, 1, 3, 3, 5, 1, 6, 3 (24)
 11.Balearia 1, 5, 1, 1, 3, 4, 1, 1 (17)

24th July, 2005 (Puerto Portals, Mallorca) : Lexus wins the 11th Breitling Regatta, third event of the circuit

Expectations were high in the final day of the 11th Breitling Regatta, the third event of five in the Breitling MEDCUP TP52 Circuit. Today the fleet were facing two races which would prove to be decisive in the general rankings of the Regatta.

In the first race of the day, with 6-7 knots of south-westerly breeze, Lexus performed a great start, showing the full acceleration capacity of the vessel. The team took the lead, ahead of the other nine TP52s, and maintained their position for the duration of the race. It was impossible for the other boats to even get close to Dean Barker and crew, and Cristabella was also unwilling to give away their second place, gained at the first mark and managed to stand their ground until the end of the race. John Cook’s Cristabella, who came second in yesterday’s race, now move into fourth place in the general rankings. Orlanda-Olympus, who left the port today in second position in the general rankings, came in third in the race, putting them into first place, thanks to Leche Pascual’s poor performance.

The fleet faced the second race with Orlanda leading on 44 points, Lexus just one point away on 43, and Leche Pascual on 41, with Cristabella in fourth place. There was much excitement, given the fact that in these races anyone can win.

The wind had picked up to 10 knots, and Lexus delivered a great start, racing forward into first place. Only a few seconds behind, Caixa Galicia were moving in, with the rest of the fleet following. At the first windward buoy, Dean Barker’s team was in first place, followed by Caixa Galicia, Orlanda-Olympus, Bribon, Bambakou, Leche Pascual, Cristabella, Siemens, Atalanti XV and Aifos. The excitement didn’t subside in the heart stopping downwind course where Bribon managed to get ahead into third place, in front of the Italian Orlanda-Olympus team.

The level of the Transpac 52 racing is so high that even simple errors can be very costly during a regatta. As such, Lexus took the decision to move slightly more to the right than their rivals in the second upwind course, which cost them a win, against Caixa Galicia who were really fighting for a place on the podium. Bribon also got ahead of Lexus and the three boats sailed the last downward course with only a few bowlines between them. At the leeward buoy, it was HM King Juan Carlos of Spain’s boat that turned first, thanks to a well made tactical decision to gybe more leeward than their rivals.

Caixa Galicia who had started the last upwind course in second place, pushed forward to pass Bribon and cross the finish line first, followed by the King of Spain’s boat, and Lexus, who had achieved victory in the general rankings in this regatta. Bambakou owned and driven by John Coumantarous came in fourth in the race, and seventh in the event. Fifth place went to Vasco Vascotto’s Leche Pascual, who were not able to keep up the winning streak they experienced in Valencia, and as such came fourth in the general classifications, drawing on points with Orlanda-Olympus who are on third place on points, thanks to their better performance in the individual races. Orlanda, who were winning at the start of the day, finished seventh.

 Vasco Vascotto, skipper of Leche Pascual : “It’s been a very hard regatta and the conditions have been extremely hard. Today we have sailed very bad and we deserve the position we have achieved. We remain leaders at the overall ranking of the Breitling MEDCUP Tp52, although the margin with our rivals have been reduced.”

 Carlos, “Charlie”, Martínez Viaña, trimmer of Caixa Galicia : “The championship has been very tight with constant changes in the leadership of each race, as it has became common. What I most like at these races is the high level of competition.”

 Lorenzo Bressani, skipper of Orlanda Olympus : “The last race has been a bit peculiar, but really beautiful, although I would have preferred it wouldn’t have been raced, as we lost our leadership.”