GP42 Quebramar Cup Trofeo de la Reina Rolex Cup - Preview

A year after the end of the 32nd America’s Cup, Valencia’s waters will once again be the host of top-notch sailing during the Trofeo de la Reina Rolex Cup, the third event of the 2008 Quebramar GP42 Cup. Everything is at stake in this event and practically any of the 8 participating teams can grab the top spot or get a place on the podium. Two new Spanish entries, Caser-Quum and Fermax, promise to make racing tighter and more exciting.

After two successful and exciting events in Italy and France, the Quebramar GP42 Cup is going to Spain for the first time in 2008. For a great number of the top-class crews of the GP42 fleet, the waters of Valencia will be very familiar, promising to offer us extremely close and tight races. In fact, the race area of the Trofeo de la Reina corresponds to the south race area of the 32nd America’s Cup. There are no favorites in this event, as the previous one clearly demonstrated, and we start with a completely clean sheet. Maybe the Italians can get revenge for their defeat by the Spanish in football, sailing on their home waters.

Desafío will position itself on the starting line with an indisputable advantage, having spent literally thousands of hours sailing and racing on these waters, sometimes against the most powerful America’s Cup teams. Laureano Wizner and Santi López-Vázquez know each square centimeter of it like the palm of their hand, but with the level of the GP42 class getting increasingly higher, even the smallest error can cost dearly.

AIRIS, second overall in the Quebramar Cup, comes to Valencia strong after a photo-finish victory in the Giraglia Rolex Cup in Saint-Tropez. Sandro Montefusco and his crew proved to be the most consistent and concentrated team.

Canarias Puerto Calero, third and tied with AIRIS at 47 points, will also try to score their first win this season. The team from the Canary islands hopes that Valencia will prove to be their first step towards victory.

The Swiss Near Miss, although 4th in the overall standings, will certainly be one of the strongest competitors, not only because of their excellent performance so far, altered by the unfortunate incident in Saint-Tropez. Just a week ago, the boat helmed by Bertrand Pacé, swept the training regatta against the 5 Spanish teams, winning 5 of the 7 races, just 50 miles north of Valencia.

MADRID, just a couple of points behind the Swiss, is confirming its strong potential. Steadily improving in every event, José Maria Van der Ploeg's boat aims at a spot on the podium.

Will Valencia prove to be the spark that will put fire on the "engine" of Roma GP42.2? The boat, helmed by Italian top match-racer Paolo Ciàn, has had a rather difficult start in the 2008 season and just like their Spanish counterparts, the Italians will also sail on familiar waters as a number of them comes from the hugely successful Shosholoza.

Finally two new Spanish entries will make their maiden appearance in the Quebramar Cup, Caser-Quum and Fermax. Although these two boats took part in last year's GP42 racing circuit, it is their first participation in 2008. Caser-Quum, owned by Javier Goizueta, will race with a crew 100% from the Spanish region of Andalucia, led by helmsman Sergio Llorca. Fermax, a boat 100% Valencian and led by Daniel Maestre, returns to the circuit with high hopes for a successful race.

The Trofeo de la Reina Rolex Cup is organized by Valencia's Yacht Club (Real Club Náutico de Valencia) and sponsored by Rolex. Racing will start on Friday, July 11th and will run till Sunday, July 13th. A maximum of 9 windward/leeward races are scheduled, 3 per day. The starting gun will be fired at 2:30 pm on Friday and at noon on Saturday and Sunday.

The remaining three events of the Quebramar GP42 Cup 2008 are the Copa del Rey AUDI MAPFRE in Palma (July 26th to August 2nd); the Trofeu Quebramar-Chrysler in Cascais (August 28th to 30th); and the grand finale, the Trofeo César Manrique in Puerto Calero (October 16th to 18th).