Alinghi retains lead at Extreme Sailing Cascais

Cascais, Portugal (July 7, 2018) – Extreme Sailing Series™ fans witnessed an intense, nail-biting end to today’s racing as INEOS Rebels UK and SAP Extreme Sailing Team crossed the finish line just inches apart in the final race of Act four’s penultimate day.

Having led the fleet around the Cascais course throughout the last race, the British squad thought they had it in the bag as they rounded the final windward turning mark ahead of their competitors.

Hot on their heels, Danish crew SAP Extreme Sailing Team rounded several metres behind them, looking set to settle for second as the Brits approached the finish line. However, a classic Cascais gust caught the Danes in the final seconds of the race, propelling them across the course until the two teams were neck and neck. In a tense fight to the finish, the teams crossed the line almost simultaneously, with both squads unsure of who had succeeded in taking the race win.

INEOS Rebels UK skipper, Will Alloway, commented on the finish.

“Our goal was to make sure we sat on top of SAP Extreme Sailing Team to keep them behind us,” he explained. “When we crossed the line, I wasn’t sure who had it. We were just pushing the boat as hard as we could until we got over.”

Adam Minoprio, helmsman for SAP Extreme Sailing Team, admitted he was determined to snatch the race win from the Brits.

“I thought we ought to try to sneak past them,” he said with a wry smile. “The only way we were going to pass them was by going around them and getting some momentum on the foils, so that’s what we tried to do. I was secretly hoping we had them at the end there.”

It was ruled that it was INEOS Rebels UK who took the top spot in the final race, securing them third place on the podium heading into the last day of the Act.

The penultimate day of racing in Cascais saw some strong results bagged for Team México. Twice they emerged from the top gate in first place, but unfortunately lost their lead as the races continued. They successfully secured a second place finish in race 21 – their best result of the Act so far.

“It was a very positive day for us,” said an elated Erik Brockmann, the team’s skipper. “Our boat speed was up and we were feeling a lot more competitive. We’re making good progress, we’re going to keep working on it so that these results happen more often.”

Roman Hagara’s Red Bull Sailing Team also saw improvements on the water, relishing the champagne sailing conditions that Cascais offers up. Following a string of mid-fleet results in the previous two days of racing, day three saw them take their first race win, along with three other podium finishes across the day’s seven races.

Sport Director for the team, Hans Peter Steinacher, was pleased with his crew’s performance.

“We had a big step up today,” he commented. “When the top four boats are watching each other, that’s our chance to be free. We’re enjoying racing here. We’ll see what happens at the end of the day tomorrow.”

For live online streaming broadcast … click here.

Standings after Day 3, 22 races
1st, Alinghi (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothé Lapauw, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey: 230 points
2nd, SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Rasmus Køstner, Adam Minoprio, Julius Hallström, Pierluigi de Felice, Richard Mason: 224 pts
3rd, INEOS Rebels UK (GBR) Will Alloway, Leigh McMillan, Oli Greber, Adam Kay, Mark Spearman: 216 pts
4th, Oman Air (OMA) Phil Robertson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Stewart Dodson, Nasser Al Mashari: 213 pts
5th, Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Ed Powys, Neil Hunter, Dan Morris, Rhys Mara: 197 pts
6th, Team México (MEX) Erik Brockmann, Tom Buggy, Alex Higby, Tom Phipps, Danel Belausteguigoitia Fierro: 168 pts
7th, Team Portugal (POR) Luís Brito, Henrique Brites, Adam Piggott, Bernardo Loureiro, João Assoreira: 138 pts

Series details – Event information – Scoreboard – Facebook

2018 Extreme Sailing Series™ overall standings (after 3 events):
1. Alinghi (SUI), Ernesto Bertarelli, 33 points
2. SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN), Rasmus Køstner, 33 pts.
3. Oman Air (OMA), Phil Robertson, 32 pts.
4. INEOS Rebels UK (GBR), Will Alloway, 27 pts.
5. Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT), Roman Hagara, 25 pts.
6. Team México (MEX), Erik Brockmann, 20 pts.

2018 Extreme Sailing Series™ calendar
March 14-17 – Act 1 – Muscat, Oman
May 24-27 – GC32 World Championship, Lake Garda, Italy
June 14-17 – Act 3 – Barcelona, Spain
July 5-8 – Act 4 – Cascais, Portugal
August 24-27 – Act 5 – Cardiff, UK
October 18-21 – Act 6 – San Diego, USA
November 29-December 2 – Act 7, Los Cabos, Mexico

Background: The Extreme Sailing Series is in its twelfth season, with this year’s eight event tour travelling through Middle East, Europe and the Americas. The platform used is the one design foiling GC32 catamaran, with the format highlighting ‘stadium’ short-course racing in front of the public.

Source: ESS