Please select your home edition
Edition
Sunstorm Marine - Winch Handle Bag

Team News Corp leads the VO60s home in Rolex Fastnet

by Volvo Press 15 Aug 2001 12:47 BST

Fanfare for Britain's Fanstone


Photo © Strategic
Britain's Jez Fanstone has baptised the Team News Corp syndicate with their first victory after winning the Volvo Ocean 60 class in the Rolex Fastnet Race. They stole victory from John Kostecki and his illbruck crew after a game of cat and mouse in the English Channel throughout the night and early this morning.

Fanstone and navigator Ross Field remained cool under pressure during a nail biting final 12 hours to beat illbruck by 21 minutes, gliding across the finish line in just seven knots of breeze at 08.28UTC.

Although the two race boats were neck and neck on the final leg to the finish, a thick bank of fog rolled in making it impossible to see each other. Such was the density the finish line at Plymouth Breakwater was invisible from Queen Anne's Battery Marina.

Commenting on his win, Fanstone said, "It's always fantastic to win a yacht race. We're delighted with the way the crew worked together, they were awesome. Overall, there were some good moments and some bad moments and we learnt a hell of a lot. It has been very good practice for the short legs of the Volvo Ocean Race."

He continued, "The racing was very close, it was as though we were attached with a bungee. We were yo-yoing all the way but in the end, we got the jump that they didn't get and that was the difference".

illbruck's two year development programme has certainly paid dividends as their performance was observed as "clockwork in motion".

"It was pretty riveting stuff. We had a very good race but they (News Corp) sailed well too - they sailed a bit better. We were pleased with our boat. Let's put it this way, we don't want to trade boats with anybody. I think the Volvo is going to be a close race, this has been a huge lesson for all of us," commented illbruck skipper John Kostecki.

Close Calls in Rolex Fastnet Race

Two extraordinary head to head battles in the Rolex Fastnet Race were only settled in the final stages this morning. Ludde Ingvall's 79-foot Nicorette finally overtook Hasso Plattner's 80-foot Morning Glory just five miles from the finish of the 608-mile ocean racing classic, when they went further offshore looking for more wind. They had been locked in battle all of the 240 miles back from the Fastnet Rock and the margin between them, at the end of 62 hours of racing was just 2 min 47 secs.

Slightly further apart were the two leading Volvo 60s, Jez Fanstone in NewsCorp putting exactly 21 minutes between himself and John Kostecki in illbruck. Both results could have gone either way, but it was the same offshore tactic that worked for Fanstone.

"What we have learned is that the Volvo Ocean Race is going to be very close, a very hard nine months," said Fanstone, safely ashore in Queen Anne's Battery as the crew carried on to Gosport and a 10-day refit for the boat."It's disappointing, but they did a better job and fully deserved the win," said Kostecki. We learned about our boat and aour competitors. It was a huge lesson but, let's put it this way, we don't want to trade boats with anybody."

The remaining two Volvo 60s, Roy Heiner's Assa Abloy and Gunnar Krantz's Team SEB were due to finish before lunch.

Giovanni Agnelli's 92-foot Stealth had been first home, slipping gently through an almost glassy sea to take the cannon which signalled line hours just 62 second before 04.00 in the morning.

Sandwiching the two 80-footers and fourth monohull across the line was the second 92-footer, Mike Slade's Skandia Leopard. They were nearly five and a half hours behind Stealth, hampered after an important, number 5, headsail broke before they had covered hardly the first mile after the start off Cowes on Sunday. These were blowey conditions and they could use only the storm staysail, which, said Slade, was why they dropped back.

With yachts due to finish all day long, Mike Broughton of the organising Royal Ocean Racing Club was taking a careful look at the performance of the Farr 52, Loco. She had until 6.30 this evening to beat Morning Glory on handicap and become the front runner to take the Fastnet Challenge Cup.

Further back, the remainder of the 211 boats still competing were streaming round the lighthouse and rock off south-west Ireland. They had a fresh 15 knots of wind, but the forecasters are predicting that the breeze will lighten again for the rest of the week, so the smaller boats will be finishing on Friday, maybe even later.

More Information:

Related Articles

Rolex Fastnet Race IRC One preview
Beyond the French legends there is plenty of international talent with podium potential With 17 editions of the Rolex Fastnet Race to his name, including five class victories along the way and an outright victory in 2015, could anyone bet against Géry Trentesaux doing it again? Posted on 4 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race: Offshore classics set to race
IRC Zero has a rich seam of ocean-going history running through it IRC Zero has a rich seam of ocean-going history running through it. While French round the world race legend Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (aka VDH) isn't competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race, two of his former steeds will be on the IRC Zero start line. Posted on 2 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race at 100 – the making of a giant
At present 469 yachts have entered this special edition - a far cry from its humble origins in 1925 One month remains until the 26 July start of the Rolex Fastnet Race, this year celebrating both its centenary as well as that of the club it spawned: the Royal Ocean Racing Club. Posted on 27 Jun
Can a maxi achieve the Rolex Fastnet Race triple?
The fight to claim the prestigious monohull line honours prize is lining up to be a tough one The fight to claim the prestigious monohull line honours prize in the centenary edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Rolex Fastnet Race is lining up to be a tough one between the world's fastest 100ft maxi yachts. Posted on 25 Jun
Class40 top guns enter Rolex Fastnet Race
One of the most successful genre of offshore race boat ever Now 20+ years old, the Class40 has proved itself one of the most successful genre of offshore race boat ever. Posted on 18 Jun
RORC centenary Rolex Fastnet Race
All set for another record-breaker Less than two months now remain until the start of the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race, this year coinciding with the Royal Ocean Racing Club's centenary. Posted on 2 Jun
Small crews, big ambitions
Double-handed teams in the Rolex Fastnet Race The past few editions of the Rolex Fastnet Race have seen a burgeoning double-handed contingent fighting some of the most tightly fought battles on the course. Posted on 9 Apr
Nazca's Leave-no-trace Fastnet Campaign
Competing in the Rolex Fastnet Race without any fossil fuels onboard Amongst the Rolex Fastnet Race fleet on the start line this coming July, there will be an entry with a difference, one quietly trying to change the world. Posted on 18 Mar
‘Modern classics' converge on Rolex Fastnet Race
Yet another record-sized fleet heading for July's race This year's special centenary edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Rolex Fastnet Race may have the biggest fleet on record when it sets sail from Cowes on 26 July. Posted on 11 Mar
2025 Rolex Fastnet Race - winners return
For this special edition, the RORC has reintroduced its once premier event, the Admiral's Cup For 2025, the Royal Ocean Racing Club celebrates both its own centenary and that of the Rolex Fastnet Race, the race upon which it was founded. Posted on 12 Feb