Edmond de Rothschild Group moves up into the top spot
The catamaran fitted out by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild has been continuing to up the ante since the start of the Grand Prix of Kiel. The men making up Gitana Team have scored a podium place in seven races and have even racked up two race wins. Third on Thursday evening and second yesterday, Yann Guichard and his three crew are now leading the German competition with a day of racing to go. After their victory in Sète at the end of May, the crew of Edmond de Rothschild Group will be trying to repeat that performance tomorrow.
Decidedly indiscernible, the Kiel race zone showed competitors a number of different faces today. Indeed the skies of Germany constantly alternated between squalls and clear spells, whilst the wind oscillated tirelessly, leaving sails with a lack of air or causing the Extreme 40s to fly a hull… Some tricky conditions then, but they didn’t seem to bother the crew of Edmond de Rothschild Group: “This morning we were keen to reduce our deficit in relation to the frontrunner and get past them if possible… I reckon we’ve successfully reached our objective. I think today has been one of the finest for the Gitana Team since we began competing in the Extreme Sailing Series. From the first race we were right into the rhythm of the racing which, once again, wasn’t easy. The wind was still fairly light in terms of intensity, despite some big gusts, and it shifted about a lot in terms of direction.”
After a day that the skipper didn’t hesitate to classify as faultless, the skipper of Edmond de Rothschild Group shared with us the elements that enabled the crew to perform so well and was keen to emphasise the great work by Pierre Pennec, Hervé Cunningham and Thierry Fouchier, his Dream Team: “It was the mindset we had aboard today which really made a difference. We worked hard from one race to the next and never gave up. Most of my starts were good, but even when that wasn’t the case, my crew were quite simply perfect. They manœuvre extremely well and I’m keen to highlight the fact that as far as that aspect of our game plan is concerned, we’re a notch better than our adversaries.”
Edmond de Rothschild Group was in second position in the provisional ranking last night, with a four point deficit in relation to Ecover. After the seven races contested this Saturday, Yann Guichard and his men have taken the lead in the event, with a sixteen point lead over Loick Peyron’s crew and eighteen over that of Mike Golding. Naturally satisfied with his crew’s exploits, the Gitana skipper remained clear-headed all the same: “It’s not over yet! There are still five to six races left to run, with the last race scoring double points, and it’s still a close-run thing between Oman Masirah and Ecover. It’s sure to be a great battle for outright victory.”
The final races in the Grand Prix of Kiel will be contested tomorrow afternoon, from 1430 hours. For Yann Guichard and his Dream Team it will be a question of thwarting the attacks of their closest rivals to take victory in the second Grand Prix of their 2010 season: “Tomorrow we’ll have to sail as we know how: cleanly and without putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves!” concluded Yann Guichard calmly.
Provisional ranking for the Grand Prix of Kiel on 28th August (after seventeen races)
1. Edmond de Rothschild Group (Yann Guichard) - 111 points
2. Oman Sail Masirah (Loïck Peyron) - 95 points
3. Ecover Sailing Team (Mike Golding) - 93 points
4. The Wave, Muscat (Paul Campbell-James) - 84 points
5. The Ocean Racing Club (Mitch Booth) - 80 points
6. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (Roman Hagara) - 68 points
7. Groupama 40 (Tanguy Cariou) - 59 points
8. Audi Sailing Team Germany (Johannes Polgar) – 49 points
9. Wirsol Team Germany (Roland Gaebler) - 41 points
The crew of Edmond de Rothschild Group
Yann Guichard
- Skipper, helmsman / Pierre Pennec – Mainsail trimmer / Thierry Fouchier – Headsail trimmer / Hervé Cunningham - Bowman