VX40 Grand Prix goes to the final day

by Volvo on 14 Jun 2006 Tricky conditions made the Volvo Extreme 40s day on the water very hard today with a mix up of results in the first race and all to play for going into the last day of the round the world series.

Light winds below five knots plagued the fleet today, with races being abandoned and postponed all early evening. The first race saw Motorola-CHR skippered by Conrad Humphreys get their own back on their biggest rivals Tommy Hilfiger and Basilica by winning the race.

Team Motorola-CHR were joined today by round the world navigator Andrew Cape who is currently sailing in the Volvo Ocean Race. Holmatro upped the anti and came in second, a great result for the Dutch team in their home country. They were followed by Basilica, Tommy Hilfiger and Team Volvo Ocean Race.

Two races were then abandoned and a third postponed until finally the second and final race of the day started. This saw three of the cats fly off the start in a small gust of wind, leaving Holmatro and Volvo Ocean Race floundering for a minute or two. Tommy Hilfiger came back to win this race, shadowed by Basilica and Motorola.

With only one day left before the overall winner of the Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix series, the teams are feeling the pressure. A protest between Motorola-CHR and Tommy Hilfiger occurred today which will be decided in the morning and could effect the standings. Tommy Hilfiger leads by eight points with Basilica in second only one point clear of Motorola-CHR in the Rotterdam Grand Prix.

James Grant skipper of British cat, Basilica spoke of the tactical day, 'It was so hard today and really tricky. We made the best of what we had and sailed hard. We’re happy with a second and third. Tomorrow will be a big day.'

Lee McMillan helm of Motorola-CHR certainly enjoyed his day, 'We had the best day of the fleet with a third and a first so we are very happy. Every day seems to get harder and harder here but we are looking forward to the last day as it’s all so close and it’s all to play for.'

Results, day 4
1st Tommy Hilfiger (1,3,2,1,4,3,1,2,2,2,3,4,1) 100 pts
2nd Basilica (5,4,3,DNF,2,1,2,1,4,1,2,3,2) 92 pts
3rd Motorola-CHR (2,1,1,2,3,2,3,5,5,3,4,1,3) 91 pts
4th Holmatro (3,5,4,3,1,4,4,3,3,4,1,2,4) 81 pts
5th Volvo Ocean Race (4,2,DNF,DNF,5,5,5,4,1,5,5,5,(DNF)) 64 pts

Overall Series Rankings (after four events)
1st Tommy Hilfiger 32 pts
2nd Basilica 30 pts
3rd Motorola-CHR 26 pts
4th Holmatro 24 pts
5th Volvo Ocean Race 20 pts