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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

Zurich winner of the GP42 class at XI Semana Nautica de Melilla

Wednesday, 15 August 2007: Jan Santana's Zurich was proclaimed winner of the GP42 class at the XI Semana Náutica Ciudad de Melilla, ending today after two races (5th and 6th) in which the Santan’a and Weiller’s crew claimed a 2nd and 1st.

These two victories consolidated a leadership they held throughout the three days of the event and even allowed them to distance themselves from second José Maria Ponce’s Canarias-Puerto Calero that scored a 3rd and 2nd place. Finally, Daniel Maestre’s Fermax finished third, after scoring their first ever victory, taking advantage of the collision between Zurich and Canarias-Puerto Calero, and a 3rd spot.

As it was expected Zurich and Canarias Puerto Calero hit the water ready for an all out fight since the outcome of their last two races was to decide the final standings of the event. The pressure was already visible in the prestart of the first race when the two boats collided in port-starboard incident after which Zurich decided to penalize themselves in order to avoid any possible ambiguities. After they recrossed the starting line and offloaded their penalty, Jan Santana’s boat was already two boatlengths behind the Canarians who managed to hold on to their lead till the last downwind leg. During the final stretch Zurich’s gybes proved to be right on the spot and as a result they crossed the finish line ahead of the Canarians by one boatlength and a few seconds behind Fermax.

The second and last race of the day and the event saw Zurich as the clear leader, dominating the course form start to finish. Jan Santana’s crew kept their leadership throughout the race thanks to their ferocious coverage over the Canarians. They crossed the finish line with an ample advantage of more than 1 minute.

When the boats returned to port, Canarias Puerto Calero filed a protest against Zurich for the collision during the prestart of the first race, claiming the turn Zurich carried out was not enough. The protest was overruled since the jury stated it was exactly what the rules indicated for such an incident.

The next racing event of the GP42 class will take place on Cascais waters, during the Quebramar-Chrysler Trophy from August 30 to September 1.

Final Results after 6 races

1. Zurich (Jan Santana/Manu Weiller) 9 points (2+1+1+2+2+1)
2. Canarias Puerto Calero (Jose Maria Ponce) 12 points (1+3+2+1+3+2)
3. Fermax (Daniel Maestre) 15 points (3+2+3+3+1+3)

Photos