Emirates Team New Zealand became the first team ever to win three consecutive MedCup regattas when they clinched the Portugal Trophy for the TP52s today, winning by just 1.5 points from Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis. With wins in Marseille, Cagliari and now Portimao, the Kiwi team, skippered by Dean Barker, leads the series by 52 points heading to the final regatta of the season, next month in Carthagena, Murcia Spain. CEO and mastman Grant Dalton said: “We are relieved. It was a pretty tough regatta. I think we identified that as soon as we got here, that this was going to be tough, and I think we also identified Artemis as the boat which could beat us. And it felt that all the way. So we are just pleased to have got through another one really. It’s a big lead now, but we know what can happen, you can still sail badly, it changes pretty quickly. There are always improvements to be made and we made plenty of mistakes in this regatta."
The GP42 Series saw the first regatta win this season for Caser Endesa, skippered by Juan Luiz Paez. Their third place today was enough to secure the Portugal Trophy on count back from Roma Mk2 (ITA), but Islas Canarias Puerta Calero still leads the series.
“We think for the excitement of the circuit, this is a really good scenario,” sais Daniel Calero, owner of Islas Canarias Puerto Calero. “but it means the pressure will really be on in Cartagena!” Pic from Carlo Borlenghi and more here.
