More problems for China Team and defeat by Areva

by China Team media on 8 May 2007
The Louis Vuitton Cup still has not reached a final verdict. Victory Challenge remains in the running and Team New Zealand caught up with Luna Rossa. The wind was not favorable for China Team, beaten by Areva Challenge.

10-13 knots of wind, strong sunshine: The wind conditions that gave Valencia its reputation are back. It is warm, beautiful and the thermal breeze comes in at 14:00 as expected.

On the menu for China Team today, is the French team Areva Challenge, skippered by Sebastien Col. It is a conservative start for the two teams, who look to be right on the line instead of playing cat and mouse. Longtze wanted the left side and getting it, crossed the line a few seconds ahead of the French boat. The first part of the leg is fairly even between the two teams, but the expected shift to the left by the Chinese afterguard, did not materialize soon enough and Areva Challenge progressively makes up on their deficit. At the first tack, Longtze finally gives way after a hydraulic problem adversely affecting the mast and genoa trim.

The status quo was shaken up for once in the other regattas of the day. Against Shosholoza, +39 leads the whole race and takes their 3rd victory of the Louis Vuitton Cup. Higher up in the classification, Victory Challenge perfectly controlled El Desafio and held on to their hope of gaining the final fourth spot in the semi-finals. The Swedes come back to within 3 points, but must beat Team New Zealand tomorrow and Mascalzone Latino Wednesday. They must also hope that the next two opponents for Desafio, BMW Oracle and Luna Rossa carry on with their winning ways. Overall, BMW Oracle remains first in the America’s Cup class, followed by Team New Zealand by one point. The Kiwis beat Luna Rossa today and achieved their goal of second place.

Sebastian Destremau, Tactician

'We chose the left side of the start line because we thought there would be a wind shift on the left, which was the case but it didn't come in until late on the first windward leg. It actually did come in on the following down wind leg. We felt like we had good pace but the head stay hydraulic ram lost some pressure, which affected the positioning of the mast, and sail trim. We had to change the trim of the jib to compensate which meant we couldn’t point as high.'

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