Please select your home edition
Edition
2024 fill-in (top)

Grand Prix Facchinetti Automobiles at Société Nautique de Genève - Overall

by Sandra Mudronja 14 Oct 2012 21:30 BST 12-14 October 2012
Grand Prix Facchinetti Automobiles day 3 - Realstone Sailing crew win this event and the overall Vulcain Trophy © Pierre Menoux

Jérôme Clerc and his Realstone Sailing crew have won the Grand Prix Facchinetti Automobiles after a bitter battle with Dona Bertarelli on Ladycat and Ernesto Bertarelli on Alinghi, who finished respectively in second and third position on equal points. The same trio shares the podium of the overall championship ranking, Realstone Sailing winning the Vulcain Trophy 2012 in front of Alinghi and Ladycat!

Today's sailing has been an exciting battle between the top three: Realstone Sailing, Ladycat and Alinghi. Despite a cloudy sky and a lack of wind until 2 pm, the competitors of the Grand Prix Facchinetti Automobiles were sent on the water to sail three fantastic races, the last one in stormy conditions: "To finish the season in 25 knots wind is a real treat! It was magical! " says Jérôme Clerc after having moored his D35 Realstone Sailing at the dock at the Société Nautique de Genève. "We had to win the last race to win the Grand Prix! It was fabulous! "

Realstone Sailing has been throughout the year a training platform for the young sailors from the Regatta Training Center, who showed once again this weekend the extent of their talent. Nine crewmembers were selected early in the season to sail on the Decision 35. Jérôme Clerc pays tribute to his two tacticians, Denis Girardet and Bruno Barbarin who have exchanged that position during the season, as well as the trimmers and Arnaud Psarofaghis and Cedric Schmidt, Bryan Mettraux, the foredeck crew, and the grinders Thierry Wasem, Nils Palmieri and Christian Monachon.

After the last race of the season, Dona Bertarelli is moving up to the third step of the podium: "I am really happy! This is the result of six years of a learning process. I want to thank not only my current crew, but all the women sailors who sailed with me until today. It took us 4 years to win the Bol d'Or Mirabaud and 6 years to get on the podium of the Vulcain Trophy. I'm really proud of our work!"

Ernesto Bertarelli comments on his sister's performance: "I am very proud of what my sister has achieved. I am very happy that a woman, that is not a professional sailor, has been able to reach the podium. It really is a consecration and this is also the beauty of our sport!"

The day ended with the Prize Giving Ceremony, which took place in the presence of Bernard Fleury, CEO of Vulcain Watches: "The championship has been very promising since the very beginning of the season. We were pleased to share these moments with the sailors with whom we share the same values: excellence, precision and team spirit. And especially the passion that drives us to innovate and go beyond our limits. We look forward to seeing you in 2013!". Vulcain Watches has offered a watch to the top three skippers of the Vulcain Trophy 2012. The watch is an Aviator Dual-Time Vulcain Trophy 2012, produced in limited edition of 100 copies.

Philippe Cardis – who finished in 4th place – announced officially his retirement from the D35 championship. He said a few words as one of the founders of the D35 class: "I am closing an important chapter of my life. First of all I want to thank my crew. Then I would like to thank my friends Ernesto Bertarelli, Nicolas Grange and Guy de Picciotto, without whom this class would never have existed. One day we sat around a table to set up this project. It was a fantastic adventure and it became a unique class of boats (...). At the end, I wish to pay tribute to Dona Bertarelli, with whom we fought for the third position until the end. We believed we would win but we now have to admit that she was faster and that she was better. I applaud because I'm really impressed how fast she learned to steer this boat!"

Bertrand Favre, the Class Master of the Decision 35, said: "With the final ranking of this year, we can see that the D35 series remains an extremely dynamic class. The top ranking is reachable for newcomers in the series, which is very encouraging for the future!"

General Ranking Grand Prix Facchinetti:

1. Realstone Sailing (22 points)
2. Ladycat (25 points)
3. Alinghi (25 points)
4. Artemis Racing (35 points)
5. Zen Too (38 points)
6. De Rham-Sotheby's (45 points)
7. Okalys-Corum (56 points)
8. Veltigroup (66 points)
9. Nickel (66 points)

General Ranking VULCAIN TROPHY 2012:

1. Realstone Sailing – Jérôme Clerc (8 points)
2. Alinghi – Ernesto Bertarelli (19 points)
3. Ladycat – Dona Bertarelli (25 points)
4. De Rham Sotheby's – Philippe Cardis (27 points)
5. Artemis Racing – Torbjorn Tornqvist (34 points)
6. Zen Too – Guy De Picciotto – Fred Le Peutrec (35 points)
7. Okalys-Corum – Nicolas Grange (44 points)
8. Veltigroup - Marco Simeoni – Boris Lerch (48 points)
9. Nickel – Fred Moura (50 points)

www.vulcaintrophy.com

Related Articles

Highlights of the 84th Bol d'Or Mirabaud
Christian Wahl wins for the third time in five years, earning a special title Swiss sailing's flagship regatta took place this weekend from the Société Nautique de Genève. It was won by Christian Wahl and his crew, including the Sailing Squad, aboard Double You Team. Here are the highlights of the race. Posted on 12 Jun 2023
Double You Team win Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2023
Christian Wahl's team conquer the Lake Geneva classic in very light winds The skipper of Double You Team and his crew, in collaboration with the Sailing Squad, won the race after a thrilling finish, 18 minutes 30 seconds ahead of Swiss Medical Network. Posted on 11 Jun 2023
Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2023 update
Realteam Sailing in the lead at the halfway mark Realteam Sailing, skippered by Jérôme Clerc, crossed the halfway mark after 8 hours of sailing. Thomas Jundt's QFX leads the monohull rankings, but it's going to be a very long night. Posted on 10 Jun 2023
Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2019 - An epic edition!
A serious storm descended on the fleet as forecast Météo Suisse was forecasting it for 24 hours: a serious storm was going to descend on the Bol d'Or Mirabaud fleet around 17:00. This warning was precise and played out to the letter! Posted on 17 Jun 2019
Ladycat team win the Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2019
This was a final victory for Dona Bertarelli's trimaran Yann Guichard and his crew, onboard Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing, have secured their fourth win of the iconic Bol d'Or Mirabaud, today Saturday 15 June at 20h36. Posted on 15 Jun 2019
Only a month to go to the Bol d'Or Mirabaud
More than 500 boats and 3000 competitors to take part The 2019 edition of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud's theme will be technology, from the festival to its focus on sustainable development. Posted on 15 May 2019
Shaping up to be another festive Bol d'Or Mirabaud
With more than 500 boats expected to take the start With more than 500 boats expected to take the start, 95 are already registered as of now in anticipation of the word's greatest fresh water regatta. This year's emphasis will not only be the true lake festival the race is on water Posted on 2 May 2019
Bol d'Or Mirabaud: A magnificent 2018 edition
Summary of the key moments on this 80th anniversary The 80th edition of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2018 was run with evasive winds, testing the nerves of participants. Patience and tactical finesse were key in a race that occurred on glass-like waters. Posted on 11 Jun 2018
A tremendous Bol d'Or Mirabaud Race
A fantastic Bol d”or Mirabaud Race on Phaedo^2 Loyd Thornburg and his crew of Chris Draper, Ed Smyth, Stuart Bithell, Haylee Outteridge and Julian Cressant, raced a fantastic Bol d"or Mirabaud race. Posted on 10 Jun 2018
Bol d'Or Mirabaud: Birthday edition rich in events
520 sailboats expected on Lake Léman The Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) is delighted to welcome some 3,000 sailors getting ready to dispute the 80th Bol d'Or Mirabaud and is offering them a program that will be rich in surprises for this jubilee. Posted on 8 Jun 2018