Coutts heading for overall lead

Lexus-Quantum take double victory in the Copa del Rey offshore race

Lexus-Quantum, skippered by Russell Coutts, was the first TP52 to cross the finish line after the 93.8 mile offshore race at the 24th Copa del Rey-Aguabrava. The victory was double for the team, as the offshore race was divided into two legs, each scoring points. Lexus-Quantum won both of these and have moved into first place overall at the Copa del Rey-Agua Brava, one point ahead of Caixa Galicia.

Once again the racing was incredibly close and again careful choice of sails were crucial to achieving good results.

After the first part of the race, where Lexus-Quantum came in first followed by Caixa Galicia and Cristabella, the fleet headed towards the area of Cabrera. The breeze fell from 14 knots to close to 6 knots at Cabrera. Lexus dominated for most of the race, but Caixa Galicia were hot on their heels right up until Cabrera, where a problem with their Code Zero furler meant that the team lost a few positions. Lexus however hung in there to secure the double victory.

Second to complete the course was John Cook's Cristabella, who's performance is showing a marked improvement since the last event, the Trofeo SM La Reina in Valencia. Cristabella were third in the first half of the race. The revitalised Greek Atalanti XV crew, with Dean Barker at the helm, and Paul Cayard as tactician, managed to climb up a position in the second part of the race. They finished third, ahead of Caixa Galicia, who have now lost their lead overall in the Copa del Rey-Agua.

Orlando Olympus, with Francesco Bruni at the helm, finished fifth in both parts, while Movistar, with Vasco Vascotto and Pedro Campos calling the shots finished sixth, having gained a position in the second part of the course. The results have meant that Lexus-Quantum are now threatening the overall lead the Breitling MedCup TP52 circuit, to date dominated by Vascotto and his team following their fantastic performance in Valencia. Lexus-Quantum are just one point from the Italian/Chilean owned vessel Movistar.

Bribon, who are leading in the Corinthian (amateur) class, finished seventh overall, followed by their closest rival, the American boat Bambakou. Bribon stayed in the lead throughout the race, sailing close to land, yet an error, small as it may have been, meant that she lost six places. With such close competition mistakes come with a high price on this circuit. The Spanish navy team on Aifos finished ninth with Siemens tenth, and Balearia last - the two newest TP52s bringing up the rear.

“The first windward leg was nice," commented Lexus-Quantum tactician Mark Reynolds later. "We got around the first mark with the lead, then there were many close times all around the course. Sometimes we got ahead and we felt comfortable and they caught right back up again and then there was a couple of times when we were in a boat length of quite a few boats…it was scary. The hardest part was the first little island, before the lighthouse island and it was dark. It was light for a while, and it got really tight, all the boats from behind caught up a little bit and we were only a boat length ahead at this point, and we were able to keep our lead.”

Results:

1.Lexus Quantum Racing 5, 11, 11, 11 (38)
2.Caixa Galicia 11, 8, 10, 8 (37)
3.Cristabella 8, 7, 9, 10 (34)
4.MoviStar 10, 10, 5, 6 (31)
5.Atalanti XV 4, 9, 8, 9 (30)
6.Bambakou 6, 6, 6, 4 (22)
7.Orlanda-Olympus 3, 4, 7, 7 (21)
8.Bribón 7, 3, 4, 5 (19)
9.Siemens 9, 2, 2, 2 (15)
10. Aifos 2, 1, 3, 3 (9)
11.Balearia 1, 5, 1, 1 (8)