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2007/07/08 - 21h30
Fight between Basilica and Groupama as pulse rates rise with the breeze
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iSahres Cup, Marseille
Le Vieux Port and Le Roucas Blanc, 7-9 July 2007 |
| Just off the Roucas Blanc, the competition got hotter and windier for the Extreme 40s on day two of the iShares Cup, Marseille
with British team Basilica firmly asserting their presence in a 10-18 knots of breeze and dominating the results table with
four wins and a second place, to take pole position with 84 points overall.
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On the first day of competition, Basilica, skippered by Rob Greenhalgh were forced to bow to pressure put on by Franck Cammas
skippering Groupama. Not happy being out of the limelight the British team came back today to stamp out the French opposition
and take a three point lead after five more action packed races.
While Basilica had a near perfect day, the stronger
winds caused troubles throughout the fleet with most boats throwing their crews and boats into fifth gear in the stronger
winds resulting in some spectacular racing, submerged bows and near topples.
Groupama spent the day sailing at full
throttle, chasing the leaders and perfecting their handbrake turn around the windward mark. Closing the day in second there
is still all to play for. "With more wind, we were not as comfortable today with the manoeuvres, which probably explains
our results. It was tough racing and we were not so good with furling the gennaker when bearing away. Basilica is clearly
better in these kinds of conditions and they demonstrated that. In these short races, a bad start, a manoeuvre done too late
and you see the competitors flying away without being able to catch them!"
Alan Hillman, iShares Cup Race Manager
is looking forward to getting the boats out on the water on Monday, the final day of competitions. "The wind looks set
to build in the afternoon to up to 21 knots. The teams were fully stretched today so with a bit more wind expected tomorrow
we should see a few more thrills and spills."
>> For further information about the iShares Cup visit the event
website at www.isharescup.com
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| 8th
July 2007 |
Rankings after nine races | |
|
Race |
Points |
Pos. | |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
| |
Basilica |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
84 |
1 | |
Groupama |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
81 |
2 | |
Offshore challenges
sailing team / BT |
3 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
64 |
3 | |
Holmatro |
6 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
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63 |
4 | |
Team Slam/
ABN AMRO |
5 |
4 |
5 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
7 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
53 |
5 | |
Tommy Hilfiger |
4 |
6 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
rdc |
6 |
4 |
5 |
|
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|
|
|
|
52 |
6 | |
Volvo Ocean Race |
7 |
7 |
2 |
4 | dnf | dns | dnf |
6 |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
45 |
7 | |
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