2003
Clairefontaine Trophy - Peyron and MacArthur in
good form
La
Trinité-sur-Mer, 5th of September
Frenchman Loïck Peyron and British Ellen
MacArthur have dominated today's Rhodia warm-up.
A compulsory and awarded training but not points
scoring. The eight sailing champions participating
in the 14th Clairefontaine Trophy sailed eight
'RUNS' in the harbour of La Trinité-sur-Mer,
off the northwest coast of France.
The
aim of this regatta is to allow the public to
experience the show. People, standing on the quays,
can admire their yachting heroes racing at their
foot.
Experience
paid for the defending champion, Loïck Peyron,
who snatched three victories and end up at the
top of the leader board. Peyron and his two crews
know the boats and the waters like no one else.
Britain's
Ellen MacArthur was most impressive as she also
won three races. Today¹s light air conditions
suit perfectly the young talented sailor and her
two crews, Philippe Péché and Nicolas
Bérenger. "We're the lightest crew
among all so for us, it's better when the wind
is not too strong!" said MacArthur before
the races. She was obviously right!
For
his come back, Switzerland's Laurent Bourgnon,
who is sailing with the Ravussin brothers, performed
quite well as they won two races. A penalty in
the fourth "RUN" as they were leading
made them lost many spots. Therefore, they finish
at the fifth place of this first days racing.
Vendée
Globe winner, Brittany's Michel Desjoyeaux, who
one this event in 2001, sailed very consistently
and therefore claimed third place overall. Just
ahead of his mate Roland Jourdain who also showed
a good potential at the helm of a Saling One (one-design
25-foot catamaran).
Match-racing
master Bertrand Pacé started well with
a third place in the first race but then sailed
in the middle of the pack. Most motivated, little
³Bert² has for sure not said his last
word.
Around
Alone winner Bernard Stamm suffered from his lack
of multihulls experience. But the Swiss is on
a learning curve and will, with no doubt, improve
in the next few days. He could surprise some his
opponents during the ³RAIDS².
For
his first participation in this event and due
to his lack of experience at the helm of small
boats, Ernesto Bertarelli did not expect to score
great results. The Team Alinghi are here to learn
and should be more comfortable in heavier breeze.
Just like Bernard Stamm, they should keep on improving
as the week-end goes on.
The
standard of the fleet is high and it promises
some very good racing on Saturday and Sunday.
Tomorrow's
programme: three "RAIDS" towards Houat
isle and one "RUN" in the afternoon.
Rhodia
warm up results:
1- Loïck Peyron 61 pts;
2-Ellen MacArthur, 57 pts;
3-Michel Desjoyeaux, 47 pts;
4-Roland Jourdain, 42 pts;
5-Laurent Bourgnon, 41 pts;
6-Bertrand Pacé, 26 pts;
7-Bernard Stamm, 20 pts;
8-Ernesto Bertarelli, 17 pts.
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