James Spithill and Team Ceeref conquer the match race event of the RC 44 Austria Cup

[Source: RC44] Six hours to complete an entire Round Robin: the organisers of the Austria Cup have done a great job after yesterday’s postponement. Today’s races were superb, with 8-15 knots of wind and a great sunshine. Team Ceeref wins the event, ahead of Team Aqua and BMW ORACLE Racing.

Unlike yesterday, the breeze kicked in just after lunch time, allowing the RC 44’s to set sail and start their duals. The Race Committee established a very short course next to the beautiful city of Gmunden, allowing the numerous public to follow the races from the shore whilst eating a bratwurst and listening to an expert commentary.

The action proved to be extraordinary throughout the day, with short and intense races featuring all the situations match racing can offer, and particularly the nasty ones, putting the jury under great pressure.

The event grew in intensity as the hours passed by, reaching its climax during the last matches of the day.

The first decisive dual opposed Team Aqua to BMW ORACLE Racing on flight 6. The two teams crossed the starting line prematurely, the American entry managing to take the lead whilst re-crossing the line. However, Cameron Appleton, on great form, fought his way back during the second beat, taking the lead and winning the race with great style.

Flight 8 proved to be particularly intense. Indeed, Team Hiroshi – sailing below their usual level until then – managed to beat Team Aqua by 2 seconds. At the same time, the big match of the day was opposing James Spithill – unbeaten until then - to Larry Ellison’s BMW ORACLE Racing with Russell Coutts at the tactics. This proved to be one of the best matches of the event, Spithill winning by six seconds after an epic dual.

The last flight of the day featured two decisive matches: Team Banco Espirito Santo (with John Kostecki at the helm) against BMW ORACLE Racing (competing for the third place of the podium) and Team Ceeref against Team Aqua, competing for the overall victory.

Patrick de Barros’s Banco Espirito Santo started the race as it started the event: with a penalty. Leading for most of the race, the Portuguese entry didn’t manage to create a big enough gap to execute its 270° before the arrival line. In a last desperate effort, Kostecki tried to force BMW ORACLE Racing into its own penalty turn, but unsuccessfully.

At the same time, James Spithill managed to clearly win the last start against Team Aqua. Sailing alone in the dying breeze, Ceeref didn’t have to fight too hard to win this last race. Team Ceeref’s victory is neat and clear: the team hasn’t lost a single race. As for Team Aqua, it finishes at a brilliant second place after having struggled during the beginning of the season. Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts’ BMW ORACLE Racing are third, ahead of Patrick de Barros / John Kostecki’s Banco Espirito Santo.

Team Hiroshi-Città di Milano, the leader of the Championship Tour since the beginning of the year, finishes fifth and will certainly have a long debrief tonight. Markus Wieser’s Team Sea Dubai carries on improving with three wins today (including a precious one against BMW ORACLE Racing). Finally, Beecom finishes seventh of the event with owner Isao Mita courageously at the helm. The Japanese entry finishes ahead of Star World Champion Mateusz Kusznierewicz and the local team Cro-Aut-Sail, who will need more time to make it to the top.

They said:

James Spithill, helmsman, Team Ceeref: “We’ve had a very good day. I have made several mistakes, but the team was great and on such a day, with fairly shifty wind, boat handling is essential. There are sometimes little gusts that come out of nowhere, and we need to react with no warning; it’s quite unpredictable.”

Cameron Appleton, Team Aqua: “I made a big mistake against Jimmy (Spithill) during the last race and this has cost us the title. However, I think that we have been sailing very well; the team did a great job. We have been preparing hard for this event and it has paid off.”

Russell Coutts, tactician, BMW ORACLE Racing: “It is great that we all managed to sail eight races today. It was very close all through the day. On two occasions, we were ahead but we finally lost the match. Both Ceeref and Aqua have sailed very well.”

Patrick de Barros, Banco Espirito Santo: “The place is wonderful, the organization is first class, and the Austrian people are great. I am thrilled although I think we deserved a better result than the one we got.”

Match-race, final results:

(Name of team, helmsman, No of victories / defeats, points)

1) Team Ceeref, James Spithill, 8/0 - 8 points
2) Team Aqua, Cameron Appleton 6/2 - 6 points
3) BMW ORACLE Racing, Larry Ellison, 5/3 - 5 points
4) Team Banco Espirito Santo, John Kostecki, 5/3 – 5 points
5) Team Hiroshi - Città di Milano, Sébastien Col 5/3 - 5 points
6) Sea Dubai, Markus Wieser 4/4 – 4 points
7) Team Beecom, Isao Mita 2/6 – 2 points
8) Team Organika, Mateusz Kusznierewicz 1/8 – 1 point
9) Cro-Aut-Sail, Christian Binder, 0/8 - 0 point