Hard Fought Race Between Luna Rossa And OneWorld

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

OCTOBER 12, 2002

HARD FOUGHT RACE BETWEEN LUNA ROSSA AND ONEWORLD

Ninth flight of Round Robin One of the Louis Vuitton Cup 2002-2003. Luna Rossa ITA 74 raced today against OneWorld USA 67, the only boat still undefeated in this first series. The matches that were abandoned in this past week, two races from flight 5 and three races from flight 6, will be sailed starting tomorrow. The weather conditions on the Hauraki Gulf have changed drastically as a low with an associated cold front moves through the Auckland area this evening.

The Race Committee at first announces a postponement for the two matches on course Romeo as the Swedes of Orn SWE 63 have a tachnical problem to fix. The matches on Juliet are on a regular schedule. A strong Northerly wind is expected to fill in later in the day.

The Race Committee fires the gun for Luna Rossa ITA 74 and One World USA 67 on time at 12:20. The two boats crossed the line almost even at two opposite ends of the line, with Rod Davis close to the pin end and James Spithill helming OneWorld close to the Committee boat. After a first windward leg where the two boats were very close, Luna Rossa and OneWorld engage each other around the mark and have an exciting luffing match which resulted in OneWorld taking a little advantage over Luna Rossa ITA 74.

James Spithill luffs Francesco de Angelis away from the top mark and continues to chase him away from the race course in the middle of the specators fleet. Finally USA 67 bears away and both boats set their gennakers. The official delta at the mark is 2 seconds. During the luffing match OneWorld flies a protest flag but the Umpires rule that Luna Rossa has kept clear and there are no penaltiesinflicted.

At the second mark, following the first gennaker run, OneWorld rounds with a 9 seconds advantage over Luna Rossa. It's a very close race so far, hard fought by both teams. OneWorld plays well with the wind shifts in the second beat, keeping a good control over Luna Rossa and extending her lead to 21 seconds at the third mark. USA 67 controls Luna Rossa over every gybe in the second gennaker run. James Spithill leaves no doors open for Francesco de Angelis to fill the gap. The delta at the bottom mark is exactly the same as the one of the previous mark: 21 seconds.

In the last beat the wind gets lighter and shiftier. Boath boats gain on each wind shift, however in the second part of the beat USA 67 defends well the right side of the course extending her lead. Luna Rossa trails at the last mark by 41 seconds. There is only one leg to go to the finish.

OneWorld consolidates her lead in the remaining part of the race by sailing well into the frequent wind shifts and keeping a close control over Luna Rossa. There is not much Francesco de Angelis and his crew can do to get back into the lead of this race. USA 67 goes to win with an advantage of 1 minute and 11 seconds. OneWorld thus remains the only unbeaten team so far.

On board Luna Rossa today as 17th man, the guest who according to the rules cannot participate in any way to the actual maneuvers during racing, Roberto Mazzeschi, a sailing enthusiast from Arezzo who works as a consultant in the automotive industry. Close friend and racing companion to Patrizio Bertelli, he had already sailed as seventeenth man on board Luna Rossa in the second Round Robin of the last Louis Vuitton Cup.

During the first part of the challenger series, each team races once against every other team. Every day the Race committee gives the start to four match races, two on race course Romeo and two on race course Juliet. The first start of the day is always at 12:15 pm local time, while the last start of the day cannot take place after 4:00 pm. Matches on the same race course start at ten minute intervals.

TODAY'S RESULTS - every victory equals 1 point

RACE 9 - Off - Stars & Stripes USA 66

Match 1 Wight Lightning GBR 70 wins against Oracle BMW Racing USA 76 (36" lead)

Match 2 Alinghi SUI 64 wins against Orn SWE 63 (25" lead)

Match 3 OneWorld USA 67 wins against Luna Rossa ITA 74 (1'11" lead)

Match 4 Mascalzone Latino ITA 72 wins against Le Defi FRA 69 (5'19" lead)

RACE COURSE

Windward leeward, 18.5 miles long; six legs total, three windward legs and three downwind legs; first and last legs are 3.25 miles, the remaining four are 3.00 miles.

WEATHER CONDITIONS TODAY

Wind from N 12-15 knots. Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Periods of rain beginning late in the day.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR TOMORROW
Wind from SW 15 knots. Mostly cloudy, showers later on. Cooler.

TODA'S CREW ON LUNA ROSSA
1. Bowman, Paolo Bassani
2. Mid bowman, Alberto Barovier
3. Mastman, Simone de Mari
4. Pitman, Cristian Griggio
5. Left grinder, Massimo Galli
6. Right grinder, Emanuele Marino
7. Upwind trimmer, Lorenzo Mazza
8. Downwind trimmer, Andrew Hemmings
9. Mainsail trimmer, Sean Clarkson
10. Center grinder, Massimo Gherarducci
11. Helmsman, Francesco de Angelis
12. Tactician, Torben Grael
13. Afterguard, Rod Davis
14. Downwind grinder, Daniele Bresciano
15. Strategist, Michele Ivaldi
16. Navigator, Matteo Plazzi
17. 17th Man, Roberto Mazzeschi

CALENDAR FOR TOMORROW - OCTOBER 13

RACE 5 - matches postponed from October 7 due to light winds
Match 1 Oracle BMW Racing USA 76 versus Orn SWE 63
Match 2 Luna Rossa ITA 74 versus Mascalzone Latino ITA 72

RACE 6 - matches postponed from October 8 due to light winds
Match 1 Le Defi FRA 69 versus Stars & Stripes USA 66
Match 2 Oracle BMW Racing USA 76 versus OneWorld USA 67
Match 3 Wight Lightning GBR 70 versus Mascalzone Latino ITA 72

CURRENT OVERALL STANDINGS - ROUND ROBIN ONE

Alinghi Swiss Challenge........7 pts (7 wins out of 8 races sailed)
OneWorld Challenge.............7 pts (7 wins out of 7 races sailed *)
Oracle BMW Racing.............4 pts (4 wins out of 6 races sailed)
Victory Challenge.................3 pts (3 wins out of 7 races sailed)
Prada Challenge...................3 pts (3 wins out of 7 races sailed)
Team Dennis Conner............ 3 pts (3 wins out of 7 races sailed)
GBR Challenge.....................3 pts (3 wins out of 7 races sailed)
Mascalzone Latino................1 pt (1 win out of 6 races sailed)
Le Defi Areva........................0 pts (0 wins out of 7 races
sailed)
* OneWorld will have one point deducted at the end of Round Robin Two.

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Corporate Technology Partners Prada Challenge 2003:

PTC Parametric Technology Corporation (engineering design and analysis software). SGI Silicon Graphics, Inc. (computer systems).

Official Technology Partners Prada Challenge 2003:

CEI Computational Engineering International (engineering visualization software). ICEM-CFD Engineering (mesh generation software).

Service Providers Prada Challenge 2003:

Dantec Dynamics (solutions for flow measurements). Green Marine Ltd (boat building and composite technology). INSEAN The Italian Ship Model Basin (experimental fluid dynamics).

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