69F Pro Cup - Day 2: Kiwis can't fly
by 69F Sailing 13 Nov 2021 19:33 GMT
12-14 November 2021
Many foiling boats can't race when they can't fly, but the Persico 69F was able to demonstrate its versatility in today's light winds, and the fleet completed five races. With the light winds came a change at the top of the leaderboard as New Zealander Phil Robertson and his team (Umberto Molineris & Neil Hunter) won two races and took the top spot on the leaderboard.
Tomorrow, it all changes again as the teams gear up for a match racing series that will determine the overall winner. First up in the quarter-finals will be Team Bruni against Team Tita and Team Fletcher against Team Echegoyen. The winner of the first matchup will advance to the semi-finals to face Team DutchSail - Janssen de Jong, and the winner of the second quarter-final will face off against Team Robertson in the semis.
All 69F races feature live, on the water, umpiring, and penalties have played a significant role in determining the ranking. A special mention goes to Team Tita, helmed by the Tokyo gold medalist in the Nacra17, who earned so many negative penalty points that they finished with fewer points today, after two days of racing, than they had at the end of day one.
Stay tuned for live updates tomorrow as America's Cup helmsman Checco Bruni, Gold medalist in the Olympic match race Tamara Echegoyen, and double match racing world champion Phil Robertson bring their match racing experience to bear on the rest of the fleet.
Phil Robertson
"There are a lot of professionals here who want to beat up on each other! It was good action today and tomorrow is match racing. Its going to be different game, a whole new concept for the class. I'm looking forward to it tomorrow."
Dylan Fletcher
"The second day of the 69F Pro Cup was good, a little bit less wind and we certainly felt a little bit more at home and we're happy we managed to claw our way up the leaderboard.
It's going to be fun tomorrow. I have never ever match raced in my whole life. Tomorrow we're up against Tamara (Echegoyen) and if we beat her we're up against Phil (Robertson) who's a match race world champion. I certainly feel like we're being thrown in at the deep end but I'm looking forward to it."
Ranking - Day 2
39,0 Team Robertson
37,5 Team DutchSail - Janssen de Jong
33,5 Team Bruni
30,5 Team Fletcher
17,0 Team Echegoyen
14,5 Team Tita