The QUEBRAMAR GP42 Cup goes to Cascais

[Source: Quebramar GP42 Cup] The fifth and penultimate event of the international Quebramar GP42 Cup will take place in the spectacular settings of Cascais, Portugal. Starting Thursday, August 28th and for 3 days, the eight GP42 boats participating in the Trofeu Quebramar Chrysler will provide tight and close races.

Cascais, 22 August 2008: With a red-hot overall score table, the Quebramar GP42 Cup will visit the Portuguese coastal city for the penultimate event of the season. If the venue lives up to its fame of strong and constant winds, racing will not only be exciting but also thrilling as any of the participating boats could very well end up with the trophy.

A mere 11 points separate the three leaders of the overall score table after 4 events. Desafío, helmed by Laureano Wizner, managed to increase its advantage by 1 point to 7, after an extremely tough week and 11 races in the Copa del Rey last month. Second-placed Near Miss, the Swiss boat owned by Frank Nöel and helmed by Bertrand Pacé, had an excellent start in Palma with 4 straight bullets but was unable to maintain the pace till the end. Italian AIRIS, owned by Roberto Monti and helmed by Sandro Montefusco, is a further 4 points behind the Swiss and consolidated its third place.

The GP42 fleet in the 27 Copa del Rey AUDI MAPFRE. Palma de Majorca, 31 July 2008. Photo copyright Iñigo Aznar / Quebramar GP42 Cup

Italian Roma GP42.2, helmed by Italian match race star Paolo Ciàn, might be a further 22 points down but her steady upward path, particularly in Valencia and Palma, makes her a certain candidate to win the event. Further down, Canarias Puerto Calero, Madrid and Caser-Quum, will definitely prove to be tough opponents and will stage a tough fight to climb positions.

Although not a newcomer to the GP42 class, another boat will make in Cascais her debut in this year’s Quebramar Cup. It is Bodegas Luís Alegre, a 2007-generation boat, owned by Alberto Fernández and Oscar Ibáñez that raced last year under the name Totalboats.

Racing will start on Thursday, August 28th but similarly to the Copa del Rey, on Wednesday the 8 boats will carry out their practice race with a corporate or media guest aboard. The starting gun will be fired at 1pm each day and a total of 9 races are scheduled, 3 per day. As a result, no races will be discarded and each and every one will count towards the overall score table.

AIRIS sails in the 27 Copa del Rey AUDI MAPFRE. Palma de Majorca, 31 July 2008. Photo copyright Iñigo Aznar / Quebramar GP42 Cup

The 8th edition of the Cascais Troféu Quebramar-Chrysler is organized by the Clube Naval de Cascais and is sponsored by the Portuguese clothing company Quebramar as well as Chrysler Jeep Dodge Portugal.

The grand finale of the Quebramar GP42 Cup 2008 will take place in Puerto Calero, in the Spanish island of Lanzarote, where the GP42 fleet will race in the Trofeo César Manrique from October 16th to 18th. With all this season’s events being so close and tight, one should expect that the championship will not be decided till the last event is over.

Near Miss sails in the 27 Copa del Rey AUDI MAPFRE. Palma de Majorca, 31 July 2008. Photo copyright Iñigo Aznar / Quebramar GP42 Cup