| RAIN FAILS TO DAMPEN FIRST DAY’S ACTION AT MATCH CUP SWEDEN |
| Tuesday, 03 July 2007 |
Magnus Homlberg on day 1 of Match Cup Sweden. Photo © Dan Ljungsvik dan@ljungsvik.com
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Marstrand, Sweden – In a day of challenges produced by light, patchy winds and intermittent rain showers, Gavin Brady (NZL) and his team from Oracle Racing and Jesper Radich (DEN) from Desafio Espanol managed to emerge with unbeaten records in the first day of racing at Match Cup Sweden. The two are ahead on three and four wins each to lead their respective groups of eight in the first day of round robin racing.
Both Brady and Radich are recent veterans of the Louis Vuitton Semi-Final round in Valencia, but their America’s Cup programs have kept them too busy from being recently active on the World Tour. However, both are pleased to be back in battle against some of the world’s best here in Marstrand.
“It’s great to be back racing on the Tour,” said Brady, who continues to train Oracle syndicate head Larry Ellison in match race sailing. “We intend to use the Tour events to learn about the latest moves and interpretations in the rules, and bring them back to practice with Larry in San Francisco on the two SM40’s we’ve been training with there.”
About the morning session’s racing, Brady said “Today was a real mixed bag for us: we led in the first race from start to finish, changed leads twice in the second, and were behind and then caught up and passed on the last leg in the last.” About the DS 37’s used in the competition here, he said “These boats are highly maneuverable, especially compared to America’s Cup boats, so this has been a real eye-opener for us coming from Valencia. There are things you’d never dream of doing in a Cup boat that are no problem here.”
Having competed as a skipper at last October’s Allianz Cup, would Ellison make another appearance at a Tour event? “I think he would be keen,” said Brady. “He really loves sailing in San Francisco, and had a lot of fun at the Allianz Cup.”
“We’re not sure right now about Oracle Racing’s future interest in the America’s Cup,” Brady continued, “that will depend on many things we just don’t know right now, but Larry does really love the event despite our obvious disappointment in the results for us. In the meantime our intent is to keep working on our match racing skills, as we saw that slip as a team in Valencia.”
Jesper Radich’s impressive record of four wins in the afternoon session was achieved through mastery of the boats – DS 37’s are used in many events both here in Sweden and in his native Denmark – but also through just solid sailing skill. “More than just the start, the shifty breeze made it really important to get the first shift. I think we did that pretty well today, just staying on top of the shifts and finding the pressure,” he said. Radich said his toughest match was against one of the three women’s team competing here for the first time in an Open event.
“Our match against Claire Leroy was really scary, as there was a 40-degree shift that put her in front for a while,” he said. “But we hung in there and were able to get past.” He has only two team members he has been with recently in Valencia, with the other two being Danes from his local club. “Even though we have not sailed together as a group, everyone is sailing together well. This is really important for me, as I’ve not been in a DS 37 in two years!”
Round robin racing resumes tomorrow, with Group B racing three flights in the morning, followed by Group A racing four flights in the afternoon.
Results after day 1:
Group A
Gavin Brady 3-0
Mattias Rahm 2-1
Simon Minoprio 2-1
Torvar Mirsky 1-2
Jenny Axhede 1-2
Bjorn Hansen 1-2
Evgeniy Neugodnikov 1-2
Ian Williams 0-3
Group B
Jesper Radich 4-0
Magnus Holmberg 3-1
Sebastien Col 3-1
Mathieu Richard 2-2
Johnie Berntsson 2-2
Claire Leroy 1-3
Malin Millbourne 1-3
Eric Monnin 0-4
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