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Sail-World.com : Victory on home waters for Basilica
Victory on home waters for Basilica
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'Volvo Extreme 40 - Team Basilica'
Basilica
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The all British owned, sponsored and crewed boat Team Basilica completed a famous victory on the final day of the VX40 Grand Prix in Portsmouth today, holding off the challenge of Motorola and Tommy Hilfiger to win by an impressive 31 points.
The win, Basilica’s second in the series, sets up a gripping showdown in the final leg in Rotterdam which starts on Friday 9 June, where the Brits have only two points to make up on overall series leaders Tommy Hilfiger. Basilica now has 30 points to Hilfiger’s 32.
Basilica went into day four of the Portsmouth regatta with a 21 point lead on second placed Motorola and 29 points ahead of closest series rivals Hilfiger, knowing that another strong day’s racing would wrap up the victory.
The team from Hayling Island Sailing Club did just that, claiming second place in races one and two from Holmatro and Hilfiger respectively. A win in the third race and another second in race four gave Basilica the overall victory that had looked so likely since the first day when they won all of the day’s races.
With Basilica maintaining their lead, Tommy Hilfiger and Motorola were left to battle it out for second place, with Conrad Humphries’ team edging out the Americans to finish as runners-up.
Basilica skipper James Grant was delighted with his crew’s performance throughout the regatta:
'We have had a fantastic week’s racing here in Portsmouth. We have sailed as a team and have got stronger with each day. Sailing on our home waters means everything to us and we desperately wanted to give our supporters something to cheer for, which we have done in spectacular fashion.'
'From day one we performed extremely well and after those four wins out of four we were confident we could win this regatta. With Hilfiger finishing third overall here we now have a great chance to go to Rotterdam and win the whole series. That has been our aim from the start and after the disappointing start in Spain, to be only two points off the lead going into the final leg is testament to how well we have come strengthened as a team.'
Motorola-CHR, helmed by British Tornado sailor Leigh McMillan, sailed a consistent week to take second place which moves them up onto the overall series podium after four events, overtaking Team Holmatro.
The final podium position in Portsmouth went to Randy Smyth’s Tommy Hilfiger. The American team had an exciting week experiencing the mixed conditions that The Solent had to offer and will be reliving their cartwheel experience for many weeks to come.
Smyth said: 'It has been a really exciting week. In a way I am quite pleased that we cartwheeled the boat, because at least now we know how to recover from it!'
He continued: 'We made some mistakes this week but certainly had to work hard to keep in there. My understanding is that in Rotterdam we will be sailing in a pretty confined space so it should be exciting. I think Basilica has an edge on us with their boat handling and we have a slight edge speed wise, so it looks set for a pretty spectacular showdown.'
Team Holmatro, helmed by Mitch Booth, were joined by Pirates of the Caribbean sailor Dirk de Ridder who helped the boat to their only race win of the week.
'These boats are just awesome,' commented de Ridder, who continued by saying, 'It is the first time I have sailed a catamaran and it was just fantastic.'
Team Volvo Ocean Race finished the Portsmouth series in fifth place overall but despite the result, class designer Yves Loday appeared to be having a lot of fun on the boat he created.
Before the teams pack up and head off for the final grand prix series in Rotterdam, they will first race in the JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race on Saturday 3rd June 2006.
The race, run and organised by the Island Sailing Club, will be their first time that the Volvo Extreme 40’s will compete against other multihulls and will be the longest race they have done to date when they complete the 50 mile circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight.
The VX40 teams then head off to Rotterdam for the final Grand Prix of the series. With only two points separating first placed Tommy Hilfiger and second placed Basilica there is everything to race for.
Final Results from Portsmouth Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix:
1. Basilica – 149 points
2. Motorola-CHR – 118 points
3. Tommy Hilfiger – 111 points
4. Holmatro – 101 points
5. Volvo Ocean Race – 81 points
Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix Series Overall Points Standings:
1. Tommy Hilfiger – 32 points
2. Basilica – 30 points
3. Motorola-CHR – 26 points
4. Holmatro – 24 points
5. Volvo Ocean Race – 20 points
Remaining Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix Series Dates:
Round the Island Race, Isle of Wight, 3 June
Rotterdam, Netherlands 9-14 June, 2006
by Ben Faber/Volvo media
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6:47 PM Thu 1 Jun 2006 GMT
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