BMW Oracle consolidate

In both pro and owner-driver series at the UBS Trophy

While it was snowing here in Newport just six weeks ago, the conditions remained perfect for day five of the UBS Trophy with 8-10 knot southerly breeze that built over the course of the afternoon.

Today three races were held: the first a continuation of the 'pro' driver series while the second two saw Ernesto Bertarelli and Larry Ellison take the helm of their boats for the first two races of the four race owner-driver series.

On Alinghi there was yet another change in the afterguard with Jochen Schuemann returning to Europe to fulfil his obligations to the German Olympic team. This moved Murray Jones into the tactician's spot, saw Spanish 470 champion Jordi Calafat move into the main traveller position. A surprise addition to the Alinghi afterguard was that of local Newport hero and former Team Dennis Conner helm Kenny Read, on board for his local knowledege.

In this race Team Alinghi’s Peter Holmberg came off the starting line with good speed on the right hand side of the race course as BMW Oracle Racing threw in two quick tacks, and slowed down significantly at the start gun. Alinghi protected the right hand side of the race course pushing BMW Oracle Racing into the shoreline with each tack, and carried a 13-second lead around the top mark.

Alinghi stretched out a little on the first run but on the second windward leg as she defended the right, BMW Oracle Racing picked up some favourable shifts on the port side of the course near the top mark, and closed up again to get in a position to threaten Alinghi.

On the final run, BMW Oracle Racing gained some separation with a couple of quick gybes, and then thanks to a gust able to close up to leeward to Alinghi, and get in a position where Holmberg couldn’t gybe and safely cross in front of the starboard gybe BMW Oracle Racing boat. Brady continued to prevent Holmberg from gybing, and sailed him out to the layline where both boats gybed simultaneously.

The BMW Oracle Racing crew executed a flawless gybe, while the Alinghi spinnaker nearly collapsed. With the extra horsepower, BMW Oracle Racing, now to windward, accelerated away, breaking the overlap to get clear ahead, and approach the leeward mark unencumbered. Brady rounded ahead, and covered closely on the short beat to the finish ahead by 26 seconds, to solidify his team’s lead in the Pro-Driver series. They now lead by 9 points to 4 (although it should be remembered seven points are riding on the final race on Saturday).

"We knew very well that if they sailed a perfect race they would win it and there is not very you can do if you are behind," explained BMW Oracle Racing helm Gavin Brady afterwards. "Our plan was to stay close and to keep as much head on them as we can and if they made any mistake we’d jump on it. Fortunately for us they gave us a little window of opportunity on that last run and we had a very big decision to make whether to stay to leeward of them and hold them past the lay line or to gybe away immediately and initially we felt it was better to just stay and we’d try to pass them on the corner by the Newport shore. Half way through it don’t look like it was the best decision we could have made and Alinghi started gaining and then things turned again and luckily we came in with a puff from behind and we were able to hold them to the layline. And when we gybed we felt we were on layine which we were obliged to do and didn’t break any rules there and rolled them coming into the mark and from there it was a short sail to the finish. So it was a really good job by the trimmers and for our team just to be patient in a tricky situation."

Alinghi's fortunes didn’t improve for the two Owner-Drivers races that followed.

In the first of these Larry Ellison sailed an excellent start in this race, controlling Ernesto Bertarelli throughout the five-minute pre-start before shutting him out from the start line, forcing Alinghi to circle around and start with a 26-second deficit.

There was an aggressive dial-up in this pre-start, which Ellison broke off, reaching away on port tack while Alinghi struggled to get moving. Ellison kept circling back at Bertarelli, aggressively using his starboard tack advantage on each approach, and keeping Alinghi on the back foot.

When the boats finally broke for the start line, Alinghi was vulnerable, approaching with no room, and to windward of the layline for the Race Committee boat. BMW Oracle Racing, strongly positioned to leeward, moved for the kill, luffing Alinghi towards the Race Committee boat, and ensuring that there was no space for Bertarelli to cross the start line. Alinghi was forced to tack and circle back for the start line, while Ellison powered away at the start gun.

Although Alinghi fought gamely to try and get back into the race, the lead at the start was too big, and BMW Oracle Racing sailed on to take the lead in the Owner-Driver series, finishing ahead by 41 seconds.

In the second owner-driver race once again the pre-start was highly agressive. There was no dial-up and Alinghi allowed BMW Oracle Racing to lead out on port tack downwind of the Race Committee boat. The boats circled several times before Bertarelli led Alinghi back towards the line on starboard tack, with BMW Oracle Racing chasing.

Ellison kept pushing Alinghi, at one point hooking in to leeward, and as the boats neared the line, both tacked, still needing time to kill. Now on port tack, and sailing slowly near the start line, Ellison tacked away rapidly moments before the gun, but as starboard aft quarter of BMW Oracle Racing swung around it clouted Alinghi square on transom, damaging her.

The Umpires assessed Ellison a penalty, and Bertarelli appeared to have the advantage, but as the start gun fired, the bow of Alinghi had already crossed the start line, and Bertarelli had to return and restart, as Ellison sailed away down a penalty, but up by 24-seconds across the line.

"There was space for me to slow down and come up a bit later, but there was a bit of miscommunication on board and some thought we were on time and some thought we were early and I followed the bowman and that put us early," admitted Ernesto Bertarelli. "That is where we are a bit rusty. We are making these sort of mistakes where the penalty we imposed on them could have given us an advantage. The same thing happened in the first start. It is a team sport and you have to trust your team mates and we decided to go on the boat side and we got locked out. And these decisions they take a few seconds and you have to train and work at it and possibly we are slightly out of practise."

From that point on, this race was about whether BMW Oracle Racing could extend away far enough to complete its penalty turn. Ellison carried a 22-second advantage around the top mark, and then BMW Oracle Racing made a massive gain on the run, to lead by 54-seconds around the leeward mark. Early on the next leg, Ellison completed his penalty turn safely and threw a loose cover on Alinghi the rest of the way to earn his second win in the Owner-Driver series.

More photos on the following pages...