The penultimate day of Extreme Sailing Series Act 3 in Istanbul started on the amazing Bosphorus, offering one of the most spectacular race courses the Extreme 40s have ever competed on. As the eight Extreme 40 yachts head into the final day tomorrow, Red Bull Sailing Team are back in the driving seat, but their day was not without incident after a collision with GAC Pindar left the teams locked in protest at the end of the day.
The fleet race down the Bosphorus on day 3 in Istanbul with GAC Pindar leading © Vincent Curutchet/Dark Frame
During the opening race on the Bosphorus the team from Austria sustained serious damage to their port hull after a collision with the Brits on board GAC Pindar, led by match racing star Ian Williams, which ripped a 40-cm long hole in the carbon fibre sailing machine. The decision by the on-the-water umpires was that Hagara was at fault for not avoiding the collision, and after a redress tonight, the original decision still stands. Hagara’s team will be penalized with a starting penalty in one of tomorrow’s races.
Despite the crash hanging over their heads as the fleet moved to stadium mode this afternoon, Red Bull Sailing Team came back fighting with a succession of top three results, before ultimately claiming the top spot in the final race of the day. The team is on track for their first ever event win tomorrow but Hagara was realistic about the competition: “We’re going to go all out tomorrow to try to stay in front. There are still four boats with a chance to win this. It’s going to be really, really difficult.”
The fleet race downwind on the Bosphorus on day 3 in Istanbul © Vincent Curutchet/Dark Frame
The Wave, Muscat was on fire in the two Bosphorus races with a win in the opening race followed by a second place. It looked like it was going to be McMillan’s day as the teams moved into stadium mode in the gusty conditions that had the hulls flying high and kept the on-water umpires busy as the teams pushed the envelope resulting in numerous close calls at the marks. But it turned out to be a different story for The Wave, Muscat as an irate McMillan explained: “We found it very tough; we had really bad starts, although very good comebacks. We did actually sail very well, but it’s pretty frustrating to not get off the start line and have to fight back every race.” Down, but certainly not out, McMillan has turned his attention to the task in hand tomorrow. “We are still in contention so come tomorrow we will be back in good shape – smiles will be back on our faces. We are normally pretty good on the last day, obviously they [Red Bull Sailing Team] are a threat, but we are looking forward to going out and duking it out with them tomorrow.”
The French pre-seasons favourites on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild have been slowly chipping away at the leaderboard, showing that they were playing the long game with three race wins propelling them into third place today. Pierre Pennec, who has been runner up in the Extreme Sailing Series for the last two years said: “It´s been a great racing day. Conditions were ideal to race as we like it and the crew has done a remarkable job that allows us to fight for the podium tomorrow. Today was divided in two halves: this morning´s races in the Bosphorous were not so good for us, but in the afternoon the team was able to react and to show our potential in the stadium racing. Tomorrow we will have a to keep our heads and advance race after race and not focus on the points of our opponents.”
The fleet are lead by The Wave, Muscat while racing on the Bosphorus on day 3 of racing in Istanbul © Vincent Curutchet/Dark Frame
The battle mid-leaderboard is just as tense as that at the top, with GAC Pindar and SAP Extreme Sailing Team from Denmark now tied on points in fifth and sixth respectively. One of two new teams on the circuit – the other is ZouLou – SAP Extreme Sailing Team won their first race of the event here in Istanbul today, much to the elation of their supporters on shore. We spent two minutes with one of their co-skippers, America’s Cup sailor Jes Gram-Hansen in a quick fire question and answer session. Watch it online now.
The NeilPryde Racing Series was also in full swing today with the crowds gathering to watch the Turkish windsurfers in action on the water. 12 qualifications races were held in tricky wind conditions as a prelude to the Extreme 40 racing, before the winners of each division went head to head in the final race that took place in 14 knots of breeze. Tonight, with LED-rigged sails, the windsurfers will race under the cover of darkness.
Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, ZouLou and Alinghi race down the Bosphorus with a mosque in the background © Vincent Curutchet/Dark Frame
Turkey’s national broadcaster, TRT Sport, went live from the race village today, broadcasting the action from the racecourse to over 16 million homes across Turkey. TRT will cover Act 3 on the final day tomorrow and will conclude the event with the teams at official prize giving where the Act 3 champion will be crowned. With a double-points final race anything can happen – watch this space!
Extreme Sailing Series 2012 Act 3, Istanbul, Turkey standings after Day 3, 23 races (09.6.12)
Position / Team / Points
1st Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Matthew Adams / Graeme Spence, Pierre Le Clainche 129 points
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan / Ed Smyth / Pete Greenhalgh / Hashim Al Rashdi / Rachel Williamson 128 points
3rd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Hervé Cunningham / Bernard Labro / Romain Petit 121 points
4th Oman Air (OMA) Morgan Larson / Will Howden / Charlie Ogletree / Nasser Al Mashari / Max Bulger 117 points
5th GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams / Nick Rogers/ Mark Bulkeley / Adam Piggot / Andrew Walsh 91 points
6th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen / Rasmus Kostner / Pete Cumming / Mikkel Rossberg / Jonas Hviid 91 points
7th Alinghi (SUI), Alain Gautier / Jean-Christophe Mourniac / Christophe Lassegue / Morgane Gautie / François Verdier 82 points
8th ZouLou (FRA) Erik Maris / Philippe Mourniac / Jean-Sébastien Ponce / Bruno Jeanjean / Patrick Aucour 68 points
