SAP Extreme Sailing Team owns the day, takes the lead

Muscat, Oman (March 12, 2015) – SAP Extreme Sailing Team showcased a winning formula on day two at the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Muscat, Oman, taking four bullets out of eight races in the shifty 15 knot north-easterly breeze and lumpy two-metre swell, that put a premium on boat handling.

Co-skippered by Jes Gram-Hansen and Rasmus Køstner, the Danish team displayed a quiet confidence on the water and clearly had a plan: hitting the committee boat end of the start line with precision, avoiding any engagement with the seven other Extreme 40’s and trusting the decisions of tactician, Køstner to secure the team’s position as overnight leaders with 113 points ahead of the penultimate day tomorrow.

“We had a fantastic day,” explained tactician Køstner. “Jes (Gram-Hansen) was starting really well, we had good acceleration off the line, we were able to put ourselves in a situation where we could choose the layline, and could sail fast around the track. Four out of eight race wins is a really great result. We are going to stick to the same game plan tomorrow and see if can keep improving. I know the other guys in the fleet will come back and make a few changes, but there are also things we can do better.”

A team that struggled with consistency today was two-time Series winner The Wave, Muscat – a nerve-racking position for the home team, after beginning the day in the lead. Rounding off the overnight podium, Oman Air stuck with their ‘bigger picture’ formula, chipping away in mid fleet and keeping out of trouble on the racecourse to finish the day just 10 points off leaders SAP Extreme Sailing Team.

Tomorrow the forecast is for the wind and swell to subside as Oman once again throws a new set of conditions and challenge at the world class sailors of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 2 Muscat. Tune in and watch the racing live from 1530 local time (GMT+4).

ESS website – Scoreboard – Crew details – Live coverage

 
Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 2 Muscat standings after Day 2, 14 races
1st SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Mads Emil Stephensen, Brad Farrand 113 points.
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari 106 points.
3rd Oman Air (OMA) Stevie Morrison, Nic Asher, Ted Hackney, Ed Powys, Ali Al Balashi 103 points.
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Jason Waterhouse, Shaun Mason, Stewart Dodson 96 points.
5th GAC Pindar (GBR) Seve Jarvin, Ian Williams, Marcus Ashley-Jones, Tyson Lamond, James Wierzbowski 84 points.
6th Lino Sonego Team Italia (ITA) Lorenzo Bressani, Enrico Zennaro, Gabriele Olivo, Tom Buggy, Stefano Ciampalini 82 points.
7th Team Turx powered by Kaya Ropes (TUR) Mitch Booth, Edhem Dirvana, Selim Kakış, Diogo Cayolla, Matteo Auguadro 79 points.
8th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Phil Robertson, Garth Ellingham, Alexander Bozhko, Aleksey Kulakov 53 points.

Report by ESS media.

Background: The Extreme Sailing Series is in its ninth season, with this year’s eight event tour travelling through Asia, Europe, and Australia. The platform used is the one design Extreme 40 catamaran, with the format highlighting ‘stadium’ short-course racing in front of the public.