The TP52 Audi Med Cup 2010 season closed in Cagliari today.
The Luna Rossa team, following the 5 phases that took place in Cascais, Marseille, Barcelona, Cartagena and Cagliari, completes the series in tenth position. Overall winner of the circuit is Emirates Team New Zealand.
Listed below are the sailors who crewed on board of Luna Rossa:
Lorenzo Bressani – Helm (Marsiglia-Barcellona-Cartagena)
“It hasn’t been an easy season for us; it was the first time that our team raced in this class, and our boat ended up not being very competitive compared to the others. The level of these races is very high, and every small detail makes a diffrence. We did our best, and the result was obviously very disappointing for us. However, we well know that sport is about winning and losing”.
Future plans for Luna Rossa will be decided during the coming winter months.
Matador and its Argentinian crew, guided by the Vascotto-Bruni duo are today’s winners of the coastal regatta that took place in Cagliari’s Golfo degli Angeli.
After almost one hour’s delay on land while waiting for the wind to stablize at 10 knots and 170°, the Regatta Committee finally gave start to the race.
Luna Rossa chose to start on the right side, reached the upwind mark in ninth and crossed the finish line in tenth place.
Below is the provisional ranking:
1. Matador (ARG), 2+8+2+1+5+1+1,5= 20,5 punti
2. Synergy (RUS), 6+5+3+4+1+5+7,5= 31,5
3. Quantum Racing (USA), 9+3+7+2+6+4+3= 34
4. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 8+2+1+10+2+3+9= 35
5. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 5+1+5+6+3+11(DNF)+6= 37
Luna Rossa closes its second day in Cagliari without positive results.
The team suffered from some mistakes committed at the start, and from differences in boatspeed that become more evident when competing against the other teams who appear faster and more competitive.
The results of the day amount to two seventh places and one tenth place, with an overall10th place in the provisional ranking and a total of 50 points.
In schedule for tomorrow is the coastal race. The weather forecast is for showers in the second half of the day.
Luna Rossa begins this series of races on an uphill and closes the first set of three regattas in the event in tenth position in the provisional ranking.
The weather, initially uncertain and with some inland showers, allowed the races to take place. Winds in the Golfo degli Angeli ranged from South-South West between 10-15 knots.
The results of today for Luna Rossa are 10-7-9.
The schedule for tomorrow foresees three more regattas. Current leader of the provisional ranking is Emirates Team New Zealand.
Today was the first official sailing day of the event Trofeo Regione Autonoma di Sardegna, the last stop of the Audi Med Cup circuit.
Luna Rossa, toghether with the other ten participating teams, carried out a series of tests that included two starts and a windward-leward race, in preparation for the coming regattas.
A bout of bad luck today contributed to part of the day’s results. Team Luna Rossa earned in the two races respectively nine and fifteen points. A number of problems on board were triggered by unpredictable events. In the first race bowman Giulio Giovanella was injured and required a substitution. In the coastal race a sunfish got wrapped around the rudder, event that, coupled with simultaneous break of the gennaker retriever and mainsail battens, contributed to a mix of misfortune that sometimes can happen in racing.
Both races today were won by EmiratesTeam New Zealand who, thanks to the day’s results, is first in the provisional ranking. Luna Rossa is now seventh.
Gabriele Benussi (ITA), Luna Rossa tactician:
“For sure today we got no help from luck. In the first race our bowman was injured and had to be taken to the hospital. Then, in the last downind leg of the coastal race, when we were third and had a comfortable lead on the boats behind us, a large sunfish got wrapped around the rudder. The impact was so violent that for a moment we thought we had broken the rudder. At that point we were obliged to drop the gennaker and back so as to free the rudder, and obviously lost a lot of time there. To make things worse, when hoisting the gennaker, the retriever broke and the sail trailed in the water for a few moments.”
Today the Audi Med Cup fleet was back on the water, ready to race after the cancelation of the previous day for lack of wind.
Weather conditions, with winds ranging from 6 to 10 knots, allowed the teams to carry out three races.
Matador, Bribon and Team Origin were the three winners in the races of the day, respectively winning one race each. Team Luna Rossa came in ninth, sixth and second, with a progressive improvement of performance and scores, and thus consolidated its fourth position in the provisional ranking.
For tomorrow the schedule is a windward-leward regatta, to be followed by a coastal race.
Regattas for the TP52′ class will continue on Sunday August 29th on a windward-leward course.
No racing today. The wind in Cartagena was slow to build and on the course it did not reach over 5 knots.
The blistering sun, with temperatures up to 35°C, contributed to the committee’s decision to cancel racing for the day.
Racing will resume tomorrow. Contrary to the initial program, the coastal race has been canceled and the fleet will carry out three races on a windward-leward course with warning signal at 13hrs.
Following a lengthy one and a half hour wait, racing finally started at 2.30 pm with Sirocco winds blowing around 10 knots.
On the first upwind leg of the first race Matador, Matador, Team Origin and Team New Zealand dominated the fleet, and Luna Rossa rounded the mark in eighth position. On the downwind leg the Italian team chose the right side of the course, postponing their jibe of a few lengths compared to its opponent, and thus gaining, when crossing at the mark, a good lead and moving up to a second place. This position was maintained throughout the rest of the race and up to the finish line. The race was won by the Argentinian team Matador.
In the second race Luna Rossa crossed the line in seventh position, and closed the day with a total of 9 points, resulting in a fourth place in the provisional overall ranking.
Max Sirena (ITA), pitman Luna Rossa:
“In the first race the tactical choice on the upwind leg allowed us to move up to second place and to maintain this advantage on the rest of the fleet by sailing independently from the rest of the fleet.During the second race instead we were controlled more closely by the other boats, and it wasn’t easy to move away from them while also maintaining a good position.”
Today was the first official practice race day of the Murcia Region Trophy event. The points gained were not valid for ranking purposes but the testing was useful to obtain comparative feedback.
The teams carried out two trial starts in which Luna Rossa performed well against the rest of the fleet. The third start was followed by the practice race, and won by Swedish Team Artemis. Luna Rossa came in eighth.
Tomorrow will give way to the first offical regattas of the Audi Med Cup; weather forecats are for medium-light winds throughout the day.
Lorenzo Bressani (ITA), Luna Rossa helmsman:
“The positive outcome of today’s work, apart from some good starts, was the fact that we improved
a few things from yesterday. The turning point was the choice of the right side. The course has a very strong current, an aspect that significally influenced our tactic choices. For us a forced side is always difficult; we don’t have a faster boat, so we try to sail more freely and to make our gains through tactic choices.”
Team Luna Rossa joins up again in Cartagena, Spain, to do some preliminary practice racing in preparation for the fourth stop of the Audi Med Cup circuit. In today’s first training session the crew engaged in a series of speed and practice manouvres in the Spanish racing area.
Tomorrow the crew will compete in the first official practice race, that will not count towards the official ranking.
The regattas of the Murcia Region Trophy will run from Wensday August 25th through August 29th.
The weather for the week will have light winds around 6-10 knots, sun and high temperatures; the thermometer will reach its utmost peak on Friday afternoon, when the forecast is for scorching sun that will heat Cartagena up to 40°C.
The Luna Rossa TP52′ crew in Cartagena is as follows:
With today’s three races, carried out today within a relativly strong wind range, Luna Rossa moves to tenth position in the overall ranking, with a total of 68 points.
In the first race Luna Rossa crossed the finish line in second position, behind Swedish team Artemis; in the second and third race the ranking was respectively eighth and tenth.
The Barcelona event will close tomorrow with two final races.
Challenging and tricky weather conditions in the waters of Barcelona today contributed to the current result that shows Luna Rossa at the 11th place of the provisional ranking.
After six races, where the points gained were respectively six, eleven and ten, the current team score is of 48 points.
Massimiliano Sirena, Luna Rossa skipper, commented:
“We were satisfied with the first race, but are obviously disappointed at the outcome the last two regattas.
Unfortunately, with two incorrect starts, we were unable to bring the boat back into the race and to move up towards the head of the fleet.
Our goal was to gain enought points so as to rank in first half of the group.
Today’s conditions however did not allow us to achieve this result, and we know that a good start would have made a big difference. We still have some time to improve our results and to prove that we can do better.”
Nonostante un nono ed un undicesimo posto nelle prime due regate odierne, il team Luna Rossa è riuscito, nella terza prova, a riscattarsi conquistando il primo successo di stagione.
La giornata è stata caratterizzata da vento di Levante sui 10/15 nodi, mare formato con un’onda che nei lati di poppa ha permesso delle planate spettacolari, merito anche del pompaggio libero.
La vittoria della terza prova, la prima di stagione, è stata conquistata grazie ad una regata condotta senza alcun errore da parte dell’equipaggio. Luna Rossa al momento risulta settima dopo le prime tre prove con 21 punti totali.
Domani sono in programma altre tre regate, la tappa di Barcellona terminerà domenica 25 luglio.
The first race day of racing of this third phase of the Audi Med Cup
circuit started with a hot day and light breeze.
The TP 52 boats in left the Barcelona docks around 11.30 am and waited in vain for the warning signal. Racing was canceled around 3 pm.
Gabriele Benussi, Luna Rossa tactician:
“I was sorry not to race today, although we had a chance to do some speed testing with Team Origin. I personally thought we could have tried a start: GP42 and TP52 boats are very reactive and fast in light wind conditions.”
Races canceled for strong winds. This morning the Mistral blew with gusts up to 35 knots of intensity, thus ruling out any possibility of racing.
The Race Committee canceld all races scheduled for the day. Quantum Racing, currently at the head of the ranking, was therefore awarded the Marseille Trophy.
Luna Rossa closes ninth in this second stop of the Audi Med Cup and also overall in the Circuit.
The next event to take place will be the Conde de Godó Cittá di Barcellona Trophy, from Julyk 20 to 25, 2010.
Results:
1. Quantum Racing (USA), 8+1+1+5+6+1,5= 22,5 points
2. Matador (ARG), 3+3+4+1+10+6= 27
3. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 2+9+2+10+2+4,5= 29,5
4. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 10+6+5+4+3+3= 31
The Mistral wind, building with increasing intensity since yesterday
afternoon, reached up to 30 knots during the afternoon.
The crews waited until 16hrs for the warning signal to go down, but at
that point the Race Committee decided to cancel all of the races scheduled for the day.
Tomorrow, last day of racing, the first start is scheduled for 11hrs. The
wind should incrase up to a maximum of 40 knots with an average intensity of 25-30 knots. The Race Committee hopes to be able to find a viable windspeed that can allow racing during the morning.
Today’s coastal race of the Marseille Trophy was sailed under sunny skies and building Mistral winds.
The 40-mile course included a windward-leward leg in front of the French city port, the tour of the Frioul islands, leading to the final south-eastern leg towards Cassis, to return once again towards the
starting point.
Team Luna Rossa came in 7th, with a total of 10,5 points: the points in
the coastal race are worth one and a half. The current placement in the
provisional ranking remains unchanged and Luna Rossa is still 9th.
For tomorrow the forecast is of increasing Mistral winds up to 25 knots.
Today is the official beginning of the second stop of the Audi Med Cup Circuit where ten crews challenged each other in the first races of Marseille.
The three races took place in medium to light winds; in the first two races Luna Rossa finished fifth, whereas in the last race, with a significant slow-down due to some debris and algae that were later found stuck to the rudder.
The final result on the finish line was tenth.
Tomorrow the schedule foresees two trials with warning signal at 13 hrs. Currently in the provisional ranking the American boat Quantum is first, whereas Luna Rossa is 8th.
Heavy showers and unstable weather conditions were such that the Race Committee was obliged to cancel the training races for the day. Luna Rossa, together with the other teams from the TP52′ fleet out on the course, was therefore obliged to return to the docks and unable to carry out the training race whose results were in any case not valid for ranking purposes.
The warning signal for tomorrow, first racing day of the Marseille Audi Med Cup TP 52′ series will be at 13 hrs.
Torben Grael, Luna Rossa Tactitian:
“I have sailed here a couple of times and t is a nice and open course, where anything can happen. I like it. We look forward to having a good week, a lot will depend on the wind conditions.
As of now it’s looking pretty wet, but with some luck it will get better.”
Another day with ups and downs for Team Luna Rossa concluding today’s races in 8th place, earning a position in the provisional standings.
After an excellent 3rd place in the first race, the team, led by the couple Scheidt-Grael, had to face a penalty in the second race because of an early start, finishing tenth.
With two days remaining in the first Audi Med Cup event, Luna Rossa is eighth with 45 points in the provisional standings. Tomorrow is the coastal race.
Overall after seven races
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 6+11+1+1+4+2+1= 26 puntos
2. TeamOrigin (GBR), 4+9+2+4+2+1+7= 29
3. Synergy (RUS), 8+1+6+3+5+8+3= 34
4. Artemis (SWE), 3+6+7+8+3+7+2= 36
5. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 9+7+4+6+1+5+5= 37
Its been a difficult day for Team Luna Rossa. At the end of two races they’re 9th in the provisional standings.
The boys of Patrizio Bertelli finished 10th and 6th place today for a total of 33 points.
The wind on the race course in Cascais arrived early this morning, the day recorded peak intensity at 25 knots but it was still very unstable, with jumps of nearly twenty degrees.
The Italian boat, helmed by Olympic champion Robert Scheidt, has performed well in racing considering it’s the first time it’s sailed in the Audi Med Cup.
Depending on the weather there will be two races tomorrow, the event will end on Sunday, May 16.
Overall – Day 2
1. TeamOrigin (GBR), 4+9+2+4+2= 21 points
2. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 6+11+1+1+4= 23
3. Synergy (RUS), 8+1+6+3+5= 23
4. Quantum Racing (USA), 1+5+8+2+10= 26
5. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 9+7+4+6+1= 27
Today the first three races of the Audi Med Cup 2010 were held.Team Luna Rossa finished in 7th position, with a 5th, 3rd and 9th placing.Team Cristabella finished the day first, followed by Quantum Racing and Matador, tied with 14 points. Tomorrow there will be three more races.
1. Cristabella (GBR), 2+8+3= 13 points
2. Quantum Racing (USA), 1+5+8= 14
3. Matador (ARG), 7+2+5= 14
4. Synergy (RUS), 8+1+6= 15
5. TeamOrigin (GBR), 4+9+2= 15
6. Artemis (SWE), 3+6+7= 16
7. Luna Rossa (ITA), 5+3+9= 17
8. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 6+11+1= 18
9. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 9+7+4= 20
After a racing season with the STP 65’, the Team Luna Rossa continues its selection and training of a highly competitive sailing team at international level.
Valencia, April 9, 2010 – Following a successful 2009 racing season in the STP 65’ class, with results such as 1st in the ORC category in the Middle Sea Race, 1st in Palma Vela and 2nd overall in the IRC category in the Fastnet Race, the Team Luna Rossa is currently preparing its upcoming 2010 sailing season, in which it will participate in the TP52’ class international circuit, the Med Cup.
The five events circuit will take place in four different countries (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy), and each event will consist of five races.
The TP52’ “Luna Rossa” is a Rolf Vroljik design that already participated in the Med Cup last year; subsequently, during the winter, in order to optimize its performance and to comply with the 2010 Class rule, she underwent significant modifications and developments, carried out by the Team’s technical department under the designer’s supervision.
The crew will include top class sailors, some of whom recent winners of the 33rd edition of the America’s Cup with BMW Oracle and also past members of Team Luna Rossa.
Among these are navigator Matteo Plazzi, pitman Simone de Mari and the responsible for the rigging development Max Sirena.
For the 2010 Med Cup Max Sirena will be responsible for the Team’s technical and sporting program.
The Team will include:
Robert ScheidtHelmsman
Torben GraelTactician
Matteo PlazziNavigator
Manuel ModenaRunners
Benjamin Durham Mainsail trimmer
Claudio CelonGenoa/Spinnaker trimmer
Lorenzo MazzaGenoa/Spinnaker trimmer
Romolo RanieriGrinder
Emanuele MarinoGrinder
Simone de Mari Mastman
Max SirenaPitman
Giulio GiovanellaBowman
Marco MontisGrinder
Antonio MarraiTeam Manager
Max Sirena Responsible for the technical and sporting program
Marco CapitaniSail Coach / Runners
Giovanni CassinariSail Designer
Luna Rossa’s participation in the Med Cup 2010 represents a further step in its process of training and selecting a Team to compete at top level in the most prestigious international racing circuits.
