Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 6: Cardiff - Overall
by Extreme Sailing Series 29 Aug 2017 07:24 BST
25-28 August 2017
It went down to the wire between SAP Extreme Sailing Team and Alinghi in the thrilling finale of Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 6, Cardiff, but the Danes pipped the Swiss to the post in the final throes of battle. The Danish squad claimed its third win of the season to go top of the overall leaderboard.
Oman Air was forced to settle for third and hand over the 2017 lead to SAP Extreme Sailing Team, after Phil Robertson and his men struggled to find their form of the previous two Acts.
Over 90,000 spectators turned out over the Bank Holiday weekend to watch the international fleet in action on Cardiff Bay, and were rewarded for their efforts today with six nail-biting races and plenty of sunshine.
For a moment, the cracks began to show for SAP Extreme Sailing Team, allowing Alinghi to claw back vital points and enter the final double-points race neck-and-neck with its main rival. But, a disastrous start dashed any hopes of victory for the Swiss team.
"It feels really good," said the winning helm, Adam Minoprio. "We went out there and started strong. The wheels fell off for a bit in the middle, and then we put the pressure on for the final race.
"That start, with Alinghi locked behind the committee boat and Oman Air over the line early, couldn't have gone any better. We are stoked that we could keep our composure and take the win in the last race comfortably, and we're really happy to take the lead as we head to America," added a delighted Minoprio, whose team also included Rasmus Køstner, Pierluigi de Felice, Mads Emil Stephensen, Richard Mason and coach and co-skipper Jes Gram-Hansen. Although he doesn't get to take home the prize, co-skipper Arnaud Psarofaghis was pleased with his team's progress after a sub-par performance in the previous Act: "It was a really good day and a good regatta for us. The team sailed very well and this was great for us after Hamburg. I'm disappointed to have had a bad start in that final race, but that's the game. Overall, we're really happy.
"It's all to play for and we can still win the season, that's the goal. We're just going to have to work harder next time," added Psarofaghis, whose team won the Series in 2016 and currently sits third in the overall standings.
"It's been a very difficult event for us," said Oman Air skipper Phil Robertson. "But, we're standing on the podium so all in all it's still a great place to be. We're the only team that has podiumed at every event so far."
"We're pretty fired up now and the guys have got a lot of passion going forward into San Diego," added Robertson.
Red Bull Sailing Team, skippered by double Olympic gold medallist Roman Hagara, found its feet as the day came to a close, posting its first bullet of the Act in the penultimate race. But, by that time, the damage was done and a podium finish was out of reach. The Austrian team finished fourth for the Act and remains fourth for the season.
NZ Extreme Sailing Team, helmed by America's Cup champion Josh Junior, follow the Austrian crew in fifth but take the Zhik Speed Machine Trophy, with insights from SAP, for the top speed of the Act at 23.2 knots. They finish ahead of the two British-flagged entries Land Rover BAR Academy and Team Extreme Wales.
The 2017 Flying Phantom Series drew to a close today and it was total domination for Red Bull Sailing Team. The Austrian squad has claimed victories in all four of the European Acts, in the first year the Series has been partnered with the Extreme Sailing Series. Culture Foil finish the season in second followed by Solidaires en Peloton in third. View the full results here.
"It's been amazing," said winning helm Thomas Zajac, who sailed this Act alongside Will Ryan. "I have watched the Extreme Sailing Series for many years on TV, so it's great to be here and to sail in amongst it. It's always nice as a sailor when you see so many people coming out to watch you and you get to show off your sport.
"The racing was very tricky here in Cardiff but we managed to sail smart, tried not to put too much risk into it, and just did our thing. In the end it paid off," commented Zajac on his victory.
Act 6, Cardiff marks the end of the European leg of the 2017 season, following events in Madeira Islands, Barcelona and Hamburg. The Series now heads to two brand new venues in the Americas for the final two Acts. Act 7 takes place in San Diego, from the 19 – 22 October. Find out more on the official website.
Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 6, Cardiff Overall Results: (14 races)
1st SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Rasmus Køstner, Adam Minoprio, Mads Emil Stephensen, Pierluigi de Felice, Richard Mason 158pts
2nd Alinghi (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothé Lapauw, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 150pts
3rd Oman Air (OMA) Phil Robertson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari 139pts
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Stewart Dodson, Adam Piggott, Will Tiller 134pts
5th NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL) Graeme Sutherland, Josh Junior, Harry Hull, Shane Diviney, Josh Salthouse 129pts
6th Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR) Rob Bunce, Owen Bowerman, Oli Greber, Adam Kay, Mark Spearman 125pts
7th Team Extreme Wales (GBR) Stevie Morrison, Alain Sign, Martin Evans, Michael Beckett, James French 110pts
Extreme Sailing Series™ 2017 Standings after Act 6:
1st SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 66pts
2nd Oman Air (OMA) 64pts
3rd Alinghi (SUI) 61pts
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 56pts
5th NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL) 48pts
6th Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR) 47pts
Flying Phantom Series Cardiff Overall Results: (14 races)
1st Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT): Thomas Zajac (AUT)/Will Ryan (AUS) 267pts
2nd ZEPHYR by Idreva (FRA): Charles Hainneville (FRA)/Antoine Rucard (FRA) 262pts
3rd Culture Foil (FRA): Eric Peron (FRA)/Théo Constance (FRA) 255pts
4th Solidaires en Peloton (FRA): Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (FRA)/David Fanouillere (FRA) 253pts
5th UON (POR): Helder Basilio (POR)/João Sousa (POR) 238pts
6th Oman Sail (OMA): Thomas Normand (FRA)/Antoine Joubert (FRA)/Ahmed Al Hasani (OMA) 222pts
7th Flying Frogs (FRA): Pierre Le Clainche (FRA)/Arnaud Vasseur (FRA) 212pts
8th Team Razzle Dazzle (SUI): Florian Trüb (SUI)/Ian Andrewes (USA/NZL) 211pts
9th Masterlan (CZE): David Krizek (CZE)/Milan Harmacek (CZE) 196pts
10th Lupe Tortilla (USA): John Tomko (USA)/Jonathan Atwood (USA) 181pts
11th Red Bill II (FRA): Dominique Pichon (FRA)/David Mirabel (FRA) 136pts
12th Back to Basics (FRA): Bruno Marais (FRA)/Eric Le Bouedec (FRA) 135pts
13th EVO Visian ICL (GER): Raphael Neuhann (GER)/Elias Neuhann (GER) 118pts
Flying Phantom Series 2017 Overall Results:
1st Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 80pts
2nd Culture Foil (FRA) 73pts
3rd Solidaires en Peloton (FRA) 65pts
4th Oman Sail (OMA) 61pts
5th Lupe Tortilla (USA) 58pts
6th UON (POR) 57pts
7th ZEPHYR by Idreva (FRA) 55pts
8th EVO Visian ICL (GER) 46pts
9th Masterlan (CZE) 44pts
10th Back to Basics (FRA) 43pts
11th Red Bill II (FRA) 37pts
12th Cup Legend (FRA) 36pts
13th Flying Frogs (FRA) 25pts
14th Team Razzle Dazzle (SUI) 13pts
15th Black Flag Racing (FRA) 11pts
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