GP42s spark up again

Plus a new boat joins the fleet for tomorrow's Trofeo de la Reina

In a few hours will be the start of the third event of the Quebramar GP42 Cup in Valencia. Starting tomorrow, Friday, the international GP42 fleet, comprising eight yachts from four countries, will be racing in the Trofeo de la Reina, crewed by an ever-growing number of world-class sailors.

The fun, exciting and fast GP42 boats will steal the spotlight among the huge 130-strong fleet participating on the waters off Valencia. We might not know who will win the Queen’s Trophy but we surely know who the king among the 11 classes is.

The starting gun of the opening race on Friday will be fired at 2:30pm, with a westerly land breeze forecast - an unusual pattern for this time of the year.

Valencia’s famous sea breeze is forecast to kick in on Saturday and weather specialists predict it will stay for at least two days, blowing at around 10 to 12 knots. Racing over the weekend starts at noon and as a result it is likely three races will be held each day.

The fight for the leader will be intense and Tom Schnackenberg, navigator on Near Miss, expects very close and tough races. Following his time with the America's Cup in Valencia, the legendary America’s Cup sailor knows the race area all too well, but so do most of the competing crews. For that reason nobody can claim to have an insider or local with better knowledge of the prevailing wind patterns. Crew work and boat speed will be crucial for all teams and as we have seen in the first two events of the circuit, there is no favorite in this race.

The Trofeo de la Reina will also be the maiden event for Caser-Quum, a newcomer to the Quebramar GP42 Cup. Javier Goizueta, boat owner, looks forward to sailing against the rest of the fleet and is optimistic about their performance. They will use Thursday’s training to test their brand new sails.

The Trofeo de la Reina is organised by Valencia's Yacht Club (Real Club Náutico de Valencia) and sponsored by Rolex. A total of nine races are scheduled, three per day.
The remaining three events of the Quebramar GP42 Cup 2008 are the Copa del Rey AUDI MAPFRE in Palma (26 July to 2 August); the Trofeu Quebramar-Chrysler in Cascais (28-30 August); and the grand finale, the Trofeo César Manrique in Puerto Calero (16-18 October).

Championship results:

	Team	Event						Points
		Trofeo Pirelli	Giraglia	Trofeo Reina	Copa del Rey	Quebramar-Chrysler	Puerto Calero
1.	Desafío	6	28					34
2.	AIRIS	19	28					47
3.	Canarias Puerto Calero	18	29					47
4.	Near Miss	19	35					54
5.	MADRID	20	36					56
6.	Roma GP 42.2	21	49					70
7.	Seawonder 007	28	54					82
8.	Roma GP 42.1	31	67					98
9.	Caser-Quum	36	81					117
10.	Fermax	36	81					117