Multiple winners on opening day in Muscat as SAP Extreme Sailing Team take early lead

- Five winners from seven races in an unpredictable and close fought opening day in Muscat, Oman.
- Series Main Partner Land Rover and Red Bull Sailing Team announce ‘Official Team and Vehicle’ partnership.
- Teams prepare for the racecourse to become narrower, and the racing more intense, as the fleet moves into Stadium mode tomorrow. Watch it live from 1530GST/1130GMT/1230CET www.extremesailingseries.com.

 

The fleet of 11 elite level Extreme 40 catamarans headed onto the Muscat racecourse for the opening day of Act 2 of the global Extreme Sailing Series™, in what it’s shaping up to be an unpredictable and close fought event, with five different winners over seven races. The Danish SAP Extreme Sailing Team had the edge over the less consistent teams, but with only 16 points separating the top eight, there will be some tough competition tomorrow as the front runners try to establish a firm lead. “It’s going to be a long regatta and it’s only day one but we’re happy with our performance today and hopefully it can continue”, commentedSAP Extreme Sailing Team’s co-skipper Jes Gram Hansen, who went on to talk about the key to success on this racecourse. “When you get ahead of the fleet it becomes easier, you have clean breeze and you’re actually just gaining and gaining. Tomorrow we just need to stay focused.”

SAP Extreme Sailing Team, Emirates Team New Zealand and The Wave, Muscat all came away with a win apiece, with Alinghi and Groupama sailing team taking two, keeping everyone guessing right up to the last race as to which team would finish the day on top. The fleet raced in open water, giving them the chance to stretch their sails under a brilliant Arabian sun, in a light breeze between 5-7 knots that played across the course, with each windward-leeward two-lap race lasting just over 15 minutes.

Series Main Partners Land Rover today announced a new partnership with the Austrian Red Bull Sailing Team, as the Official Team and Vehicle Partner, adding further gravitas to the premium British car company’s relationship in the sport of professional sailing. On the water, it was a frustrating end to the day for the Austrian boat, fronted by double Olympic champions Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher, who were tied on points at the top of the leaderboard going into the final race. A tenth place in that race proved costly, and the team finish the day in sixth, showing just how quickly things can change on the racecourse. Skipper Hagara commented: “The teams will need to be more consistent tomorrow. You really need a good start out there, as it’s so difficult to get back in it when you start from the back. All the teams are very strong and that’s why we are very tight on points. No mistakes will be the plan for all teams!"

After a somewhat conservative start to the event for both four-times Olympic champion Ben Ainslie’s British team J.P. Morgan BAR, and Gazprom Team Russia, helmed by two-times Series winner Paul Campbell-James, the British helms began to master the racecourse, both securing finishes in the top three. Campbell-James summed up the day: “We had some good races and some bad races, unfortunately more bad races than good ones so it was a little frustrating. There’s a lot of positives we can take from today – our downwind speed was a lot better, our upwind speed felt pretty good and our crew work is improving every day. The most important thing tomorrow is that we will be back to reaching starts, which may provide a bit of variety as to who gets to the line first. We’re close to the shore with a good Omani crowd as enthusiastic as ever, so we’re looking forward to it!”

It was a testing day for Realteam, who were unable to continue riding on their wave of success following their third place in Singapore just three weeks ago, and also for GACPindar, who couldn’t emulate their recent 18-foot skiff success during the day’s racing, with the teams finishing tenth and eleventh respectively.

During this morning’s press conference, attended by national and international media, Alinghi’s helm for this Act Morgan Larson predicted, “this event will be a real test, and only the best team will rise to the top” and with three days of Stadium Racing still to come, it is anyone’s guess who will be crowned champions in Muscat.

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Act 2, Muscat standings after Day 1, 7 races (19.03.14)
Position / Team / Points
1st SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Peter Wibroe, Nicolai Sehested 48 points.
2nd Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Anna Tunnicliffe, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 45 points.
3rd Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Sophie de Turckheim, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 45 points.
4th The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 44 points.
5th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker, Glenn Ashby, James Dagg, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 43 points.
6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Nick Blackman, Stewart Dodson 41 points.
7th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Tom Johnson, Will Howden, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 33 points.
8th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Matt Cornwell 32 points.
9th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Paul Campbell-James, Alister Richardson, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 25 points.
10th Realteam (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bryan Mettraux, Thierry Wassem, Nils Palmieri 22 points.
11th GAC Pindar (AUS) Seve Jarvin, Troy Tindill, Ed Smyth, Sam Newton, David Gilmour 16 points.