Desafio Espanol down to Emirates Team New Zealand

by Desafio Espanol media on 24 May 2007
Today the advance of the Spanish team in the 32nd America's Cup came to an end after losing to Emirates Team New Zealand. This day brought an end to the best Spanish participation in the history of the most prestigious sailing event in the world.

The Desafío Español 2007 team managed for the first time in the history of Spanish participation in the America's Cup to qualify for the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals. More than two and a half years of intense work have been necessary so that this team should attain what until now appeared to be a dream.

On Sunday 20 May the best Spanish challenger of all time placed Spain among the best three teams in the world after defeating the powerful New Zealand team for a second time. The North American team, BMW Oracle, lost again to the Italian team, Luna Rossa, and the Italians mathematically qualified for the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup, which will take place between 1 and 12 June.

Desafio Español 2007 has faced the toughest rival in the Cup in six regattas. The New Zealand team has won the America's Cup on two occasions, and has double the budget and many more years of experience than the Spanish team.

In the pre-start, with a wind of 15 knots and large waves, the New Zealanders took the dominant position pressuring the Spanish boat just before the start, both leaving on the right side and the New Zealand team leading by two lengths. Tacking down the right side with the New Zealanders closely marking, the Spanish boat was three lengths behind in the first part of the leg, a distance which continued to increase throughout the leg, despite the efforts of the green boat, and the kiwis had a lead of 37 seconds as they reached the top marker.

On the downwind leg, ESP-97 tried to shorten the distance but the New Zealand boat proved to be superior, and was leading by 50 seconds at the leeward gate. Desafío Español 2007 tried to recover ground but the New Zealanders were tough and continued to dominate the next two beats, crossing the finishing line 1:18 seconds before the Spaniards.

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Ignacio S. Galán, President of Iberdrola and of Desafío Español 2007,
after the elimination of the team in the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals, commented that 'the success of a job in which we have united all efforts' and praised the Spanish syndicate's good results.

'I believe that this is everybody's success. It has been team work in which many people have worked enthusiastically, as well as counting on sponsors and the support of the Royal Family. This result is the success of a job in which we have united our efforts', he commented.

The President of Desafío Español indicated his pride and satisfaction and reiterated that this leads 'us to be determined that this project continues'.
S.Galán was in the Desafío's base to witness the defeat which established the definitive 5-2 result in the elimination in the semifinals in the regatta against Emirates Team New Zealand and led to the departure of the team from the 32nd America's Cup.

'We have arrived to a point that we never imagined in Spanish sailing and have shown that if we are capable of organising a great project and we work together, we can do great things' he stated.

The President of Iberdrola also commented upon 'the warmth that Valencia has shown' and remembered that there had been days when 70,000 people had visited the port. 'This has helped the crew's enthusiasm'.

S.Galán remembered that among the 120 members of the team 'all the autonomous communities are represented and there are thirteen different nationalities'.

'There has been technical, logistic and economic disciplines. There has been a management that has made the crew, who are real heroes, see that everything around them was organized', added Sánchez-Galán, who insisted that a sport such as sailing has been popularized 'in a country with more than 3,000 miles of coastline'.

Agustín Zulueta, technical and sports managing director for Desafío Español 2007, commented that, now eliminated from the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals, the day had arrived to give explanations and that now it was important to 'learn from our errors and continue forward with the project' for the next edition.

'Tomorrow will be the moment to discuss the event, but now are the moments of glory to enjoy the work of the last three years and see the reality, because some of us are still not aware of what we have achieved,' he commented, immediately after the defeat.

Zulueta explained that in the last regatta of the semifinales against Emirates Team New Zealand, the team had had no option.

'In the regatta there was a strong wind, and they caught us at the beginning. They showed their level in these conditions although we made no errors in our manoeuvres'.

According to Zulueta, who tomorrow plans to discuss the participation of Desafío Español in the 32nd America's Cup and the future of the project, assured us that he is on 'stand-by', awaiting to hear where the next edition will take place.

'We have our objective clear - that Iberdrola will be our main sponsor and that we will continue to move forward', added the main technical and sports manager in the Spanish team.

Also, Zulueta encouraged the supporters of Desafio Español to support the Swiss team, Alinghi, from now on. 'We have created a 'desafiomanía' and now I ask you all to encourage Alinghi because it is the best for Valencia and for Spain' he stated.

Karol Jablonski, helmsman: 'Before we began nobody thought that we could get this far. We are very happy with the performance given by the team.
We need time to realize what we have achieved, and how far we have come.
I congratúlate TNZ because they deserved to win.

Virgilio Torrecilla, grinder: 'We have learned a lot in these semifinals - that we are capable of defeating the strong teams. The most important thing about our result is how Spain has become involved and that it has been worthwhile so that people continue to take interest in the America's Cup and if there are future projects, that they continue to support us and we can satisfy them'.