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November 26, 2010 |
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On this page, LVT Dubai Semifinals/Day 13
Statements:
New Zealand and the USA will meet in the finals of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai tomorrow after each team won their semi-final contests 2-0 today in close racing on inshore waters off the Dubai International Marine Club. The American team BMW Oracle Racing beat the French/German team All40ne while Emirates Team New Zealand defeated Italy's Mascalzone Latino Audi. Races were close and hard-fought. All4One and Mascalzone each lost races on penalty calls. Tomorrow the USA's BMW Oracle Racing, winner of the 33rd America’s Cup will square off in a best-of-three race series against the New Zealand team that won the Louis Vuitton Cup in Valencia in 2007. Asked about his last big race against Emirates Team New Zealand, BMWOR’s skipper James Spithill said it was during the Louis Vuitton Cup in Valencia. Spithill’s team spent much of the intervening years in the legal limbo that followed the 2007 Cup and preparing for and winning their catamaran challenge for the 33rd America’s Cup. The Americans have been major supporters of the Louis Vuitton Trophy competition, racing in several events, but without much success. “I feel we’re back at the level that’s required now,” Spithill said. “Obviously these Team New Zealand guys have been sailing monohulls and racing together for a long time. It’s been a big push from us to go back to work and get back to this level. I’m happy with how the guys have really taken the challenge on. “We’ve put ourselves into the position now where we can win the regatta. It’s just going to come down to tomorrow and I think it will be a pretty tough series. Dean is a fantastic sailor, calm and with a good temperament. He and I have had some great racing over the years. I don’t expect tomorrow to be any different.” Barker and the Kiwis had to come from behind today in both their races against Gavin Brady and the Mascalzone Latino Audi team. In their second race Barker caught the Italian boat at the weather mark and forced a penalty that became the Kiwis ticket to the finals. “It was hard out there today, trying to pick the right side of the course,” Barker said. It’s not easy. Mascalzone led both times at the top marks but fortunately we were able to keep the racing close enough. The guys sailed really well all round the course, keeping it close and taking advantage of the opportunities.” Barker was cautiously optimistic, looking forward to tomorrow’s finals. “There have been five Louis Vuitton Trophy events and we’ve been in the final of all of them,” he said. “Oracle was at La Maddalena and they were ninth. Here they’ve been the form team and we’ll have to sail well tomorrow to beat them.” In the first race tomorrow BMW Oracle Racing will enter the start box from the favored starboard side. Emirates Team New Zealand will sail NZL 92, the newest of the Kiwi boats. BMWOR will sail NZL 84.
Race One,
BMW Oracle Racing def All4One, 00:18 Race Two,
Emirates Team New Zealand def Mascalzone Latino Audi, 00:28 Race Three,
BMW Oracle Racing def All4One, 00:51 Race Four,
Emirates Team New Zealand Mascalzone Latino Audi, 00:22 The Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai is under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, the principal sponsor of the event. -- From Louis Vuitton Trophy
BMW Oracle Racing advanced to the final of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai, the fitting finale for America’s Cup Class monohulls, with a sterling performance in today’s semifinal round. Led by skipper James Spithill, the American team, which won the 33rd America’s Cup in February, defeated the German/French All4One crew 2-0 to advance to the final where it will meet Emirates Team New Zealand, also a 2-0 winner in the semifinal round. The winning formula for today was as it’s been throughout the regatta that began 13 days ago. Tactician John Kostecki and strategist Murray Jones called the windshifts with aplomb and trimmers Dirk de Ridder (mainsail), Ross Halcrow (headsails) and Joey Newton (spinnakers) kept the boat moving fast. Not to mention, the sailhandling at the turning marks was flawless. “It’s nice to have the option to put the boat where you want and the guys take care of the rest,” said Spithill. “We’ve got the option to go toe-to-toe or, if JK and Murray see a shift, we can speed to that. The guys have been spot on throughout the regatta.” Spithill has been spot on too, especially in the pre-start sequence. Once again, he gave his crew the ability to call free races by winning the starts. In the first pre-start, Spithill got a penalty on All4One for jibing too close. That penalty came in handy during the second upwind leg when All4One closed to within one length as the two crews combined for 25 tacks in a furious duel. “We set the penalty up in the dial-up,” Spithill said. “We got control and forced him into a tight situation and he went for it. Turns out we didn’t need it, but it was nice to have that penalty in the back pocket.” In the second race the two crews came off the line at opposite ends, but BMW Oracle Racing was at speed at the pin end while All4One was tacking to starboard at the committee boat, making the French/German team slow off the line. After entering onto the racecourse, BMW Oracle Racing quickly tacked to port to get to the right and take advantage of the downspeed All4One and a right-hand windshift. “The second start changed quite a bit during the pre-start,” Spithill said. “Initially there was a pin bias and we were going to take it, but then the wind went way right. We came off the line and JK called a tack right away. I think the fact we tacked so quickly put them under pressure.” Tomorrow’s final against Team New Zealand pits Spithill against old rival Dean Barker. The two raced the Louis Vuitton Cup final during the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007. It’s a showdown Spithill is looking forward to. “I’m convinced we haven’t seen our best yet, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” Spithill said. --From BMW Oracle
Tomorrow the grand final between BMW Oracle Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand Good but not perfect, yet. There was nothing to be done against the kiwis, for the fourth and fifth time. Even if they hadn’t shined every single day of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai, today, in a best-of-three semifinal, the crew of Emirates Team New Zealand was in full form and with two wins they blocked Mascalzone Latino Audi Team’s access to the finals. As a result, Mascalzone Latino Audi Team clinches third place in the overall leaderboard, All4One finishes fourth while fifth and sixth place go to Artemis and Synergy. Tomorrow takes place the grand final. It is a very positive result, only trailing the winners of the latest America’s Cup edition, BMW Oracle Racing and the always formidable Team New Zealand. The finals were within reach of Mascalzone Latino but, just like in the previous races, the “chemistry” seemed not to be onboard in order to guarantee a consistent performance. In any case, these events don’t count towards the America’s Cup but are used in order for the sailors to remain in the game and for the newcomers to hone their match racing skills. Racing was very tense and of the highest level possible, aspects that teach and enrich even the “occasional sailor”, such as the famous friend from Naples, former captain of the Italian national football team, Fabio Cannavaro, today at the back of the Mascalzone Latino yacht as 18th man. “It was a wonderful experience,” explains the famous football player. “I liked it so much because I witnessed some great team effort, where everybody had great concentration and all had to work in a synchronized manner. It’s a pity for the result but that’s sport. The atmosphere was tense and, apart from the noise of the yachts and the voices during the maneuvers, there were also prolonged periods of silence. They all seemed very calm, concentrated; they knew they were sailing in important races.” It has to be said that today Gavin Brady (NZL) tried to battle it out, showing his usual aggressive nature with brilliant starts, the team’s Achilles’ heel in the first days of the Dubai regatta that later turned out to become in many occasions the strongest point for the “Latin Rascals”. What failed on the other hand, in both races today, was the calm in the decision-taking process. In the first race, after a great start with a big speed-advantage of their opponent, Mascalzone Latino was clearly ahead at the first weather mark, rounding 22 second ahead of Team New Zealand. In the first run, without feeling excessive pressure from the Kiwis, a bad gybe turned the race upside down, slowing down Mascalzone while giving their opponents the opportunity to pass them, choose the gate they wanted and rounded with a 4-second lead. An intense tacking duel followed in the second beat and the Italian bow was again in front according to Virtual Eye. Brady and the rest of the Mascalzone afterguard opted for the right side of the course but the correct call was on the New Zealand yacht. Much better pressure on the left lifted the kiwis to a 13-second lead at the last mark. There was nothing the Italians could do but give the first point to New Zealand. In the second race Mascalzone Latino Audi Team prevailed once again in the start but a tactical error at the approach to the first mark sentenced the result. Emirates Team New Zealand sailed to the right side of the course and approached the mark using the starboard advantage. Brady thought the lead was enough to cross ahead but Dean Barker (NZL) was able to put his boat between the Italians and the mark and forced them away. Not only did the New Zealanders rounded ahead, they imposed a penalty on the Italians. The race was over and Team New Zealand sailed to the finals. Yesterday, Mascalzone Latino Audi Team showed it could be the leader in fleet racing, winning the two matches it took part in and left an important mark in the history of this class. What we witnessed today seemed to be the copy of a script already seen, as Emirates Team New Zealand has been the only team so far to take part in the finals of all five events of this series. The prestigious host locations (Auckland, Nice, La Maddalena and Dubai), have lived with great excitement these races, named after Louis Vuitton, initially with the suffix “Pacific Series”, before the creation of the World Sailing Team Association, and then “Trophy”, organizing as well numerous side events such as the Dhow races here in Dubai and other youth events. In generals, the “big family” of Cup sailors had the chance to live a series of event that, without forgetting the terrific Louis Vuitton Acts and especially the Louis Vuitton Cup, allowed us to enjoy the glorious America’s Cup Class yachts in the last three years. The first one took place in January of 2009, in the middle of the fierce legal battle that followed the end of the of the world’s most famous regattas in these yachts, held in Valencia in 2007. The sun is about to set on the last of these events in the United Arab Emirates with a final winner, Emirates Team New Zealand or BMW Oracle Racing, two teams that have deservedly dominated so far. Quotes of the day Gavin Brady (NZL), skipper and helmsman of Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, comments today’s action: “It was definitely a big battle today with Emirates Team New Zealand. It’s been that way not only this year in the Louis Vuitton regattas but it has been like that for many, many years with Dean, growing up from our Optimist days. It’s always a full battle. Right now they are the form team, probably the team to beat and to do that you have to be working 100%. We sailed very, very well today, we had chances and we were leading both races, so it’s very positive. We went today ready to fight and I’m very proud of the team because that’s exactly what we did.” Regarding his experience with Mascalzone Latino Audi Team and its owner, Vincenzo Onorato, Brady said: “Mascalzone Latino Audi Team has been a wonderful year for me to be part of the group. Vincenzo’s style and vision match mine very well. He’s a great leader and he allowed us to go out there this year. We have made mistakes and we have done other things well and all the way through he has been very positive. He has been behind us 100% and that to me shows a lot of character and he will be a very successful Challenger of Record, a very successful team in the next America’s Cup.” Steve Hayles, navigator on Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, commented the first race: “We had a great start, we got the side we wanted and Gavin Brady got the yacht off the starting line in great shape. We had a great first beat after being ahead in the first cross. We probably made a tactical error at the bottom of the first run. We could have crossed them at some stage and go to other gate. From there it was very tight and we were right behind them in the second beat. The important thing is that it’s at two points, so they are not there yet. We proved we are very, very strong and we’re just going to go into the same thing.” Links of Interest: Louis Vuitton Trophy:
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