Trofeo Pirelli-Copa Carlo Negri
Santa Margherita (ITA), May 1-4

Giraglia Rolex Cup
Saint Tropez (FRA), June 8-10

Rolex Trofeo de la Reina
Valencia (ESP), July 10-13

Copa del Rey AUDI Mapfre
Palma (ESP), July 26 - Aug 2

Trofeu Quebramar-Chrysler
Cascais (POR), Aug 28-30

Trofeo Cesar Manrique
Puerto Calero (ESP), Oct 16-18

News

The GP42 fleet ready to battle out in Cascais at the Trofeu Quebramar-Chrysler

Wednesday, 29 August 2007: The GP42 fleet is warming up on the eve of the Trofeu Quebramar-Chrysler, the fourth and last event of the 2007 International Grand Prix Circuit, starting tomorrow Thursday in Cascais, Portugal. A total of 8 boats are present (AA-HPB, Canarias Puerto Calero, Fermax, Quebramar-Chrysler, Quum, Roma, Seawonder 007, Zurich) in the Portuguese city participating in the event that will shape the podium and decide the champion of the 2007 season.

The boat that shares the same name with the event, Quebramar-Chrysler, will enter the starting box tomorrow with a considerable advantage over the rest of the fleet. The Portuguese boat, entirely crewed by members of the Desafío Español, dominated the previous two events in Valencia and Palma and is currently on the top of the leaderboard despite having missed the opening event in Cres.

Still, the 20-point advantage they enjoy, is not a guarantee for any victory and her crew will have to take any race seriously as if it were the most decisive. Seawonder007, helmed by Flavio Favini, had a difficult start in the Copa del Rey but rapidly improved and managed to finish fourth. Her Mascalzone Latino crew will undoubtedly have to sail flawlessly if they want to be crowned champions of the opening season of the GP42 class.

Without any doubt, the toughest battle will take place for third place. Three boats are neck and neck and can easily aspire for the last spot on the podium. Zurich is currently 3rd with 95 points, closely followed by Roma with 97 and Canarias Puerto Calero with 104. Both Zurich and Roma have been reinforced with big-name America's Cup sailors, making sure they leave nothing to chance. Zurich will be helmed by Alinghi's Jordi Calafat, joined by his teammate Yann Gouniot (Alinghi's sail trimmer) while Thierry Péponnet will be calling tactics. Péponnet was the helmsman and then tactician on Areva Challenge, the French America's Cup challenger. Sébastien Col, the young French sailor that replaced Péponnet at the helm of Areva Challenge in Valencia, will now compete against his old crew mate at the helm of Roma.

The Italians have all the chances to have both their boats on the podium. Further down the leaderboard, Fermax will be reinforced with the arrival of Jesper Radich. The Danish sailor, second helmsman of Desafío Español, will hold the role of tactician aboard the Spanish GP42 boat.

Three windward-leeward races are scheduled for Thursday and the weather forecast calls for north-northwestern winds between 15 and 20 knots, a fantastic range for the GP42 to provide exciting races. Being the first day of the event, races will start at 1pm local time.

Quotes

Jesper Radich, tactician of Fermax: On him joining Fermax. I was with AA-HPB, the Croatian team, during the last Copa del Rey. We agreed with the Fermax team I would sail here in Cascais with them and the regatta would serve as a test. If we are happy with the results we will certainly sail more in the future.

On the GP42 boats. It's a really interesting class and the GP42s have a great potential. They are very technical boats and the way you sail them makes a a very big difference. They don't have runners and as a result the rig setup is extremely important. If you do it correctly, you will be considerably faster. Sail design has not settled down yet and I'm sure North and Quantum Sails are working pretty hard to get the design right. It's a very difficult job to get all perfect and rig setup and sail design are by far the most important factors for success.

On the contribution of a GP42 boat to an America's Cup crew. Sailing on GP42s can help you feel the boat and trim the sails. The rig setup is quite different and you have to play the rig quite more than on an America's Cup boat. Obviously, some parts are similar while others are different. In the other direction, when you sail a lot at a higher level it can help you with the yachts. You have tried a great number of things and it's always useful for a team to get the input from someone that has this level of experience. You can try and do a thousand changes on a boat but if you don't do the correct ones, it will not help you at all.

On the differences among the fleet. If one looks at the complete boat (sails, rig, boat shape, appendages) there are big differences. Obviously, my old crewmates from Desafío Español are doing quite better than the following 3 boats and the rest of the fleet will watch them closely. In my opinion, they are just doind the basics correctly, it's not rocket science. It's important to be thorough and methodic. It doesn't have to be scientific, hust organized.

On his job as tactician on the bay of Cascais. This is a very different race course when you compare it to Valencia. I assume we will sail closer to the shore given the breeze is along the shore. It's very different from a race course with the onshore sea breeze. I'm sure I will look a lot more clever in 4 days than what I do right now.

Quotes

Sébastien Col, helmsman of Roma: This is the first time I sail on a GP42. We had our first training session yesterday and my first impressions are excellent. The GP42s are great boats, very powerful. It is another world when compared to the America’s Cup, they are much more sensitive, closer to a Melges 24 than an America’s Cup yacht. They plain at 15 knots true wind speed and this is something that never happens with an America’s Cup boat. We have set up a great team with Roma and hopefully we will be able to reach the boat’s maximum performance and that will be reflected in the results.