Extreme Sailing Series - JP Morgan BAR claim podium finish in France
by JP Morgan BAR on 6 Oct 2014
J.P. Morgan BAR took their second podium position of the 2014 season in Nice, France. Lloyd Images/Extreme Sailing Series
Day four – the finale of Act 7 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Nice – saw J.P. Morgan BAR give it everything to claim a third place finish overall, their second podium position of the 2014 series.
All seven races were exhilarating and edgy but ultimately, it all came down to the wire in the final and 29th race of the event – the double pointer. It could have gone either way for the British team and every position across the fleet was to play for.
Eventually, in one of the tightest scoreboards of the circuit, the British team clinched the third place spot from Red Bull Sailing Team by just one point.
J.P. Morgan BAR Skipper, Ben Ainslie, summed up the racing and teamwork that brought it all together, 'It was another really tough day here, as they have all been, with the winds changing a lot and the tough competition. But we seemed to find our feet a little bit more and get a good solid set of results together to finish on the podium, so we are really happy with that.
'It’s been challenging for all the teams but for us it’s been really good in a number of ways, we have worked on different areas and we are happy with how we developed through the week.'
The team were consistent in securing a race win in each of the first three days, and today boat and crew were in perfect harmony to claim two more victories. Sailing Team Manager, Jono Macbeth continued, 'In this regatta a lot of things came together for us, the team were starting really well and their crew and boat work was probably some of the best in the fleet.
'Speed on all points of sail was good and I just think they sailed really smartly. I think the breeze was really unstable, and they kept on fighting when they weren’t up there with the top boats, and in the end that probably helped them secure their third place.'
Bowman, Matt Cornwell concluded, 'We had a good day today, it was tricky again though – shifty – but we stuck to our game plan and generally started off the pin, which gave us good starts.
'We still had a couple of really bad races, but by sticking to our strategy we got a good routine going and moved up places to the podium. It’s been a really fun event, lighter than the others but still great conditions and considering the weather we still got in 30-odd races.'
The Extreme Sailing Series continues with the season’s showdown in Sydney from 11th – 14th December and the success in Nice leaves the team in fifth place, with 37 points, on the overall 2014 leaderboard. Skipper, Ainslie looks ahead, 'Obviously we are all really looking forward to Sydney, it’s a great backdrop to race against – I really enjoy sailing there, and what a way to end the series.'
Full J.P. Morgan BAR Act 7, Nice, Team list:
Skipper – Ben Ainslie
Tactician – Paul Campbell-James
Bowman – Matt Cornwell
Trimmer – Nick Hutton
Fifth Man – Bleddyn Mon
Sailing Team Manager, Jono Macbeth
Shore Team
Jono Macbeth
Johnny Mourdant
Ian McCabe
Simon Daubney
Alex Hopson
Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 7 Nice standings after Day Four, 29 races (5.10.14)
Position / Team / Points
1st Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Anna Tunnicliffe, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 183 points.
2nd Realteam by Realstone (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bruno Barbarin, Bryan Mettraux, Thierry Wasem 171 points.
3rd J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Campbell-James, Bleddyn Mon, Matt Cornwell 161 points.
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Thomas Cjakgak, Stewart Dodson 160 points.
5th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Peter Burling, Glenn Ashby, Blair Tuke, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 156 points.
6th GAC Pindar (AUS) Nathan Wilmot, Seve Jarvin, Hugh Styles, Tyson Lamond, James Wierzbowski 146 points.
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Christian Kamp, Brad Farrand 145 points.
8th The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 143 points.
9th Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Tanguy Cariou, Valentin Bellet, Arnaud Jarlegan, Devan Le Bihan 143 points.
10th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Ted Hackney, Kyle Langford, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 138 points.
11th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Phil Robertson, Garth Ellingham, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 133 points.
Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 overall standings
Position / Team / Points
1st Alinghi (SUI) 65 points.
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 57 points.
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 49 points.
4th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) 45 points.
5th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) 37 points.
6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 30 points.
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 28 points.
8th Oman Air (OMA) 24 points.
9th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 24 points.
10th Groupama sailing team (FRA) 22 points.
11th GAC Pindar (AUS) 11 JP Morgan BAR website
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