Conde de Godó Barcelona Trophy - High levels of tension

by Sabina Mollart-Rogerson on 13 Sep 2011 Conde de Godó Trophy being held in Barcelona, Spain is the fifth and final event in the Audi MedCup Circuit. The first race day of the regatta looks set to have a slow start today with a relatively light sea breeze forecast to build steadily during the afternoon.

Already on land the fierce sun has been burning down on the race village which is situated in the heart of the Catalonian capital on the Moll de La Fusta, almost at the foot of the Columbus statue.

With the series leader board tightly framed, Quantum Racing leading by 3.5 points from Audi Azzurra Sailing Team, and Container and Bribón with a fighting chance of taking the title, there will surely be a high level of nervous tension to be contained as the first points races for the 52 Series are due to start this afternoon.

The sea breeze is further to the left than on the practice race. The forecast direction is around 180-190 degrees with the pressure building to around 11-12kts. Two races are scheduled for the 52 Series, while for the S40’s it is the official practice race day.

All of the race action is broadcast live throughout the day on the event website.

Vasco Vascotto (ITA), Strategist, Audi Azzurra Sailing Team (ITA):
'We have light variable conditions here today, 12 knots top, and it also seems that there has been some crew changes in some of the teams. It´s going to be tough, we are all keeping the standings in mind and how many points we have, so it will be a fight. I think that we have the right amount of tension and concentration. There are four boats who can win this circuit and Bribón is one of them. They also have an advantage, which is that their boat sails really well in these conditions. We have to study what happens and see if we can do something big at the end of the week'.

José María Torcida (ESP), Skipper, Iberdrola Team (ESP):
'The forecast for today and the rest of the week doesn´t show strong conditions. Light winds make the races more open. We are happy to have new boats here, our goal is to win the circuit and that shouldn´t be a problem unless something terrible occurred to us. We want to win here to put a perfect end to a great season. We are going to be the boat to beat, we saw it in Cartagena. We have to do our job, not making mistakes and stay in the same shape. Some boats will use new sails, and that will be an advantage for them, we are going to use a mainsail with a few days of practice in it, and should be better than the one we used before. We´re also changing the jib, we´ll be using a new one that performs well with winds like the ones we’ll have here today, about 12 knots.'

Audi MedCup website