Victory Challenge Defeats Areva

PRESSINFORMATION

It was a thriller when Victory Challenge defeated Areva

(26 April 2007, Valencia) What a thriller. What entertainment. Magnus Holmberg and his crew took the penalty round the goal pin with absolute perfection and with the smallest imaginable margin in its match against French Areva Challenge. It was also, without a doubt, the most dramatic moment until now in the challenger series the Louis Vuitton Cup.

Victory Challenge won by five seconds, to only later on lose in yet another hair-raising last run against Spanish Desafío Español.

“We feel very strong after having had such a good development during the start of the Round Robin series,” Skipper and Helmsman Magnus Holmberg said.

About the match against Areva Challenge he said: “It was probably a little more exciting than we ourselves would have liked.”

Victory Challenge won the start convincingly and was leading up the first beat but Areva Challenge attacked aggressively in a tacking duel, got closer and was even able to cause a penalty for Järv.

“We ended up getting a penalty and getting behind at the top mark. We fought very hard to get back into the lead which we did on the second beat. On the last downwind it was all about extending that lead to get enough distance to be able to take our penalty. At the end we managed to do it and that was great.”

“We said to ourselves that if we executed a perfect penalty turn around the pin end of the finish line then there would be a chance since there would be enough distance to do it. We knew we didn’t have a margin. Everybody on the boat did a great job with the manoeuvres as you could see, ” Magnus Holmberg said.

Victory Challenge won with only five seconds over Areva Challenge.

In the following match against Desafío Español, the Spanish took the lead early on in the first beat and were ahead by more than 30 seconds at each rounding.

“We were doing some really good gains on them on the last downwind; we had a little bit better pressure than they had, but it might have looked just a touch better than it was. We still had to jibe to port, when they were on starboard, and they had their last card, which they utilized as well: to jibe on us and disturb our air. They did that quite well, in the end. If we had had another boatlength, it would have been enough.”

British Philip Doyle was onboard as the 18th person. He had acquired the place as a result of his family attending a charity dinner in London in favour of the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF and its work in helping thousands of children who have either become orphaned through AIDS, or contracted HIV themselves. Victory Challenge’s donated place for the 18th person onboard Järv (SWE 96) in the Louis Vuitton Cup raised £35,000, or nearly 500,000 Kronor.

For Victory Challenge a tough new day in the Louis Vuitton Cup awaits tomorrow. In the last two matches of Round Robin One, Järv meets Emirates Team New Zealand and Mascalzone Latino.

“They will be interesting and very important matches,” Magnus Holmberg said. “To be really satisfied we have to have two wins, but one win would be acceptable since we are at an early stage of the Round Robin series.”

With only two flights of the Round Robin One series left, BMW Oracle Racing is still the only undefeated team with eight wins.

Four teams have six wins: Emirates Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa Challenge, Desafío Español and Mascalzone Latino. One team has five wins: Victory Challenge. One team has four wins: Team Shosholoza. One team has three wins: Areva Challenge. United Internet Team has won one match. Both +39 Challenge and China Team have no wins at all.

Round Robin Two, where only one flight will be sailed each day, starts already on Saturday and continues until Tuesday 8th May. Only then will it be clear which of the four teams will continue to the semi-finals.

Victory Challenge’s main partners for the 32nd America’s Cup are Tele2, Red Bull and MTG. Metro and Viasat Broadcasting are media partners. Corum is the official timekeeper. Sail Racing, LIROS Yacht Ropes, Rutgerson Marin, Pergo and OM Pimespo Ibercarretillas are official suppliers. Team suppliers are Sebago, Oakley, Ascom Wireless Solutions, Optimus, Flaggfabriken National, Fitness First in Valencia and Nordic Sea Hotel in Stockholm.

ends

© Scoop Media