The Rade Sud delivered the conditions which both the TP52 Series and GP42 Series fleets came to Marseille with hopes of, as westerly winds to 20 knots produced fast, physiscally challenging racing for both fleets.
Emirates Team New Zealand proved the most consistent, top scorers of the day across the three windward-leeward races when they posted a 2,1,2 from the three races which were contested with a windward mark set off the Ile Maire on the eastern entrance to Marseille, while there was an occasional benefit too from the Cape Caveaux to the right of the course, the south west corner of the Ile Pomegues.
'There was no particular rhyme or reason to the day, boats did well on both sides. I think the secret of success today as much as anything was sailing good runs. Also if you were in touch at the top mark then you could pick a few boats off.' concluded Emirates Team Zealand's skipper-helm Dean Barker (NZL) of the conditions.
In the brisk conditions Emirates Team New Zealand's polished boat handling, smart starting and excellent, assured tactics combined to prove they are this regatta's class act so far. From seven points clear of Matador (ARG) this morning, the Kiwi team eased out to ten points ahead of the Alicante Trophy winners who won the first race today and then added a third and a fifth.
While there was often a dividend to the left of the track upwind, it was not as regular as opening day's three TP52 contests. After Bigamist (POR) and Valars (RUS) lead at the windward mark first time up Matador and Emirates Team New Zealand made gains on each successive leg to take first and second places.
Ray Davies (NZL) and Adam Beashel (NZL) called the shifts on the first downwind leg of the second race well to make their key move which gave the Kiwi boat the lead by the first leeward turn and they reversed the first race order when they kept Matador in second.
Audi MedCup Circuit 2008 champions Quantum Racing (USA) made their best start so far this regatta on the third race of the day and went on to lead Emirates Team New Zealand home. With a tally from the day of 6,3,1 Quantum Racing are now third overall.
Tomorrow's coastal race to the east along towards Cassis, against the spectacular backdrop of the sharp limestone karst Calanques, is easily the most incredible scenery of any of the Audi MedCup Circuit venues. It will be the first coastal race for the TP52 this season. Unlike previous seasons the points multiplier for the coastal race is now 1.5 and the midrace scores only stand if the race finish is not achieved.
Roma day at the GP42 Series
Each of the three races for the GP42's went to the wire, down to one final surf in the high speed downwind sailing. In the first race it was Roma (ITA) which lurched ahead on a wave to pip the Spanish boat Islas Canarias Puerto Calero by just four seconds.
The Spanish boat turned the tables and got their revenge in the second race when they stole the winning gun by only two metres from Roma. Only four seconds separated winner Roma from Turismo Madrid (ESP) in the third race, with Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP) third.
It was a frustrating day for the Italian team on Airis who suffered a broken backstay which failed twice, forcing them to retire from the second two races.
Roma Mk2 lead the Marseille Trophy for the GP42 Series by two points from Alicante winners, Islas Canarias Puerto Calero.
Quotes of the day:
Dean Barker (NZL), skipper-helm Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL): 'The breeze was shifting quite a bit, nothing big but enough to be a nuisance if you were on the wrong side of it. It will be a bit of a change for us tomorrow, we have not done a coastal race for a while. It'll be interesting and a time to learn with the team. I think the format is good, not holding quite the same penalty if you don't do well. I am really happy with the boat and we can still do a better job sailing, so if we are on the pace now we can keep better and better.'
Terry Hutchinson (USA), skipper-helm Quantum Racing (USA):'The entire day was good for us. We did it to ourselves in the first race a little bit. We have little spinnaker keepers and one got sucked into the block and we could not trim the spinnaker in the gybe and so we lost Valars, Artemis and potentially a shot at third in the first race, That was frustrating.'
'We went 3-1 after that and after our starting yesterday it was better. Yesterday it was execution which was down to me. I did a bad job. Poor execution. Mark, Morgan and Robert in all three races had us in good positions with a good plans and I did not execute. But sometimes you are balancing being aggressive and being smart. That last race was a good indication of how the boat is going. We were over once last year and it was here.'
Guillermo Parada (ARG) helmsman of Matador (ARG):'This stronger wind pushes us to the limit, but we are very happy because the boat is going well. Emirates Team New Zealand are obviously having a great week, but there's still a lot of races to go, and we must keep pushing. Maybe we wait for them to maybe make a mistake and take advantage of it. There was a big current at the windward mark and with the waves if your layline was tight then it was very difficult to get in and they came really tight and we were just beside them, Regarding the speed of our boat, ok, it's a new boat and that helps, but speed also has to do with sails and how you deal with the waves and how you manage the crew.'
Jose Ponce (ESP), helmsman of Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP):'We are very happy since even if we've made a lot of mistakes we have been able to keep consistent and we have always been top three. But it is the very first day that we can race with this boat in this stronger wind. For it is very complicated to adapt to the boat since it's very agressive and difficult to control with these conditions. It is very different from the boat we had and it's been a challenge enough to finish these three races.'
Audi MedCup Circuit 2009 - Marseille Trophy
TP52 Series Overall - Day 2 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 1+3+1+2+1+2= 10 points 2. Matador (ARG), 2+6+4+1+2+5= 20 points 3. Quantum Racing (USA), 8+5+2+6+3+1= 25 points 4. Artemis (SWE), 7+28+5+5+3= 30 points 5. Bigamist (POR), 5+4+6+3+10+4= 32 points ...
GP42 Series Overall - Day 1 1. Roma (ITA), 1+2+1= 4 points 2. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP), 2+1+3= 6 points 3. Turismo Madrid (ESP), 4+4+2= 10 points 4. Caser-Endesa (ESP), 3+3+4= 10 points 5. Swing (JPN), 6+5+5= 16 points ...
Cape Leeuwin, WA
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