Emirates
Team New Zealand finally got the wind it had
been waiting for and produced another good day on the Marseille race course.
With
three races sailed and a 2, 1, 2 scoreline, ETNZ consolidated its position at
the top of the leader board, 10 points clear of second-placed Matador.
Grant
Dalton: “We have been waiting for a day like today ever since we launched NZL
380 in February.
“All
the racing in Alicante
was in relatively light air and in Marseille yesterday it was very light. NZL 380 was designed for a stronger breeze
and today we got it.
“Every
boat in the fleet is fast in these conditions, so it still wasn’t an easy day.
When the breeze gets over 20 knots and the racing is really close, the crew
work counts. It shows with a crew like ours, who know each other well, know the
combinations and know the calls.
“When
the racing gets tight, when we’re thundering into the bottom mark with five
other boats at 16 knots, we’re never flustered, there’s no shouting, no drama.
We’re just doing the job.”
And
while the results today did not come easily, “it was a really good day.
Consistency is paramount in these regattas.”
Even with a bigger breeze, racing was not
straight-forward. Dean Barker: “The breeze was shifting quite a bit,
nothing big but enough to be a nuisance if you were on the wrong side of it.
“The breeze paid off on both sides of the course. The secret of
success today was sailing well downwind. If you were in touch at the top mark
then you could pick off a few boats on the run.”
“I am really happy with the boat. We can still do a better job sailing
it, so if we are on the pace now we can keep getting better and better.”
TP52 Series
Overall results at the end of Race Day 2
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 1,3,1,2,1,2 = 10 points
2. Matador (ARG), 2,6,4,1,2,5 = 20 points
3. Quantum Racing (USA), 8,5,2,6,3,1= 25 points
4. Artemis (SWE), 7,2,8,5,5,3 = 30 points
5. Bigamist (POR), 5,4,6,3,10,4 = 32 points
6.
Bribon (ESP), 6,1,5,10,4,8 = 34 points
7.
Valars (RUS), 10,11,3,7,4,6 = 41
8.
Synergy (RUS), 3,9,9,7,6,10 = 44 points
9.
Audi Q8 (ITA), 4,8,10,8,8,11 = 49 points
10.
Pisco Sour (CHI), 11,7,7,9,11,9 = 54 points