ACI HT Cronet Cup

>> 2001

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FINAL RANKING

1. PHILIPPE PRESTI
1. (FRA, Le Défi Areva)
2. BERTRAND PACE
2. (NZL, Team New Zealand))
3. PETER HOLMBERG
3. (USA, Oracle Racing)
4. MAGNUS HOLMBERG
4. (SWE, Victory Challenge)
5. JES GRAM-HANSEN
5. (DEN)
6. ANDY BEADSWORTH
6. (GBR, GBR Challenge)
7. TOMISLAV BASIC
7. (CRO)
8. CHRIS LAW
8. (GBR)
9. BJORN HANSEN
9. (SWE)
10. PAOLO CIAN
10. (ITA, MAscalzone Latino)

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2001 - DEAN BARKER
2001 - (NZL)
2000 - DEAN BARKER
2001 - (NZL)
1999 - STEN MOHR
2001 - (DEN)
1998 - ANDY BEADSWORTH
2001 - (GBR)
1997 - PETER GILMOUR
2001 - (AUS)
1996 - RUSSEL COUTTS
2001 - (NZL)
1995 - PETER GILMOUR
2001 - (AUS)
1994 - PETER GILMOUR
2001 - (AUS)
1993 - PETER GILMOUR
2001 - (AUS)
1992 - CHRIS DICKSON
2001 - (NZL)
1991 - RUSSEL COUTTS
2001 - (NZL)
1990 - PAUL CAYARD
2001 - (USA)
1989 - PAUL CAYARD
2001 - (USA)
1988 - CHRIS DICKSON
2001 - (NZL)
1987 - HAROLD CUDMORE
2001 - (GBR)

Philippe Presti won ACI HT Cup (06/01/02)
(source : swedishmatchtour.com)

In a thrilling five match final France’s Philippe Presti of Le Defi Areva won the Swedish Match Tour’s ACI HT Cronet Cup, the seventh event on the world’s premier professional sailing series.

Presti opened the first-to-three-wins final by taking the first two matches against fellow countryman Bertrand Pacé who now sails for Team New Zealand, and then watched the wily veteran battle back to even the score and force a fifth and deciding match.

"Its always a street fight when you sail against Bertrand," said Presti. "All the results were very close in each of the matches, we had to work very hard for the win which is not surprising when you sail against someone as good as Bertrand and Team New Zealand." The jubilant Presti continued, "This is one of my first Swedish Match Tour events and to win at this level is huge for both me and Le Defi Areva."

Additionally, in the petit finals Peter Holmberg and his Oracle Racing team rallied back after losing his opening match to Magnus Holmberg’s Team SeaLife to win two in a row and finish in third place. With his third place finish here this week Peter Holmberg clinched the Swedish Match Tour 2001/2 championship.

The overall championship is the result of a year of consistent success on the Swedish Match Tour for Holmberg and his core match race team of John Cutler (tactics), Brad Webb (bow), Mike Sanderson (trim) and Robbie Naismith (pit). Holmberg and his crew never finished lower than third any of the six Swedish Match Tour events they entered.

After sailing a clean first match to go up 1-0, on Pacé, Presti got himself in a bit of trouble in the second match. The Le Defi Areva helmsman copped a penalty on his first windward mark rounding when he raised his spinnaker too soon and hit the mark, earning a flag. Presti then engaged Pacé in duel at the second windward mark rounding resulting in a collision which earned Pacé a penalty, in the process wiping off Presti’s. Presti then sailed clear and crossed the finish slightly more than one boat length ahead of Pacé.

In the third match Presti copped a penalty in the dial-up and Pacé steered clear of him around the track to capture the win and close the score to 2-1. In match four Pacé kept the momentum going, winning the start and keeping Presti at bay to finish less than a boat ahead to even the series at 2-2.

The fifth match was high drama from the start. Presti induced Pacé into a penalty in a port-strarboard incident with Pacé T-boning Presti’s Benneteau 35. From there Pacé used every trick in the match racing book to even it out but Presti stayed clear and sailed to his first win on the Swedish Match Tour.

In today’s conclusion of semifinal action, Pacé and Presti finished what they started on Friday, completing clean sweeps of the Holmbergs, 3-0, to advance to the finals.

Results of the day :

Final : Presti def. Pacé - Presti def. Pacé - Pacé def. Presti - Pacé def. Presti - Presti def. Pacé

Petit Final : M. Holmberg def. P. Holmberg - P. Holmberg def. M. Holmberg - P. Holmberg def. M. Holmberg

Semi-final - Flight 3 : Pacé def. M. Holmberg - Presti def. P. Holmberg

A French duel for the final ? (05/31/02)
(source : matchrace.net)

The semi-finals started soon after 4 p.m. Peter Holmberg choose Bertrand Pace as his opponent so Magnus Holmberg crossed sails with Philippe Presti. Pace and Presti were more successful today and won two races.

Depending on the weather conditions, the Race Committee could announce the semi-final results of today to be the ultimate ones and proclaim the final races.

Earlier in the day, the ideal whether conditions (with the wind up to 13 knots) enabled the competitors to finish the last three flights from the second round robin. There were 18 duels in two round robins.

Peter Holmberg firmly holds the leading position and has 13 wins and 5 defeats until now. Entering the semi-finals brings him closer to the victory in the Swedish Match Tour.

The second is Frenchman Philippe Presti who is new to this regatta. He was successful 11 times. Magnus Holmberg is in the third place with 11 wins,

Frenchman Bertrand Pace is fourth with 10 successful battles. Jes Gram Hansen and Andy Beadsworth have the same score but Pace has a better outcome in duels against them.

Semi-final Results :

Flight 1 : Bertrand Pacé def. Magnus Holmberg - Philippe Presti def. Peter Holmberg

Flight 2 : Bertrand Pacé def. Magnus Holmberg - Philippe Presti def. Peter Holmberg

Final Leaderboard (skipper/Win/Losses)

Peter Holmberg (USA, Oracle Racing), 13/5
Philippe Presti (FRA, Le Defi Areva), 11/7
Magnus Holmberg (SWE, Victory Challenge), 11/7
Bertrand Pacé (NZL, Team New Zealand), 10/8
------
Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), 10/8
Andy Beadsworth (GBR, GBR Challenge), 10/7
Tomislav Basic (CRO), 8/10
Chris Law (GBR), 7/11
Bjorn Hansen (SWE), 5/13
Paolo Cian (ITA, Mascalzone Latino), 4/14

RR2 Results

Flight 15 : P. Holmberg def. Hansen - Beadsworth def. M. Holmberg

Flight 16 : Gram-Hansen def. P. Holmberg - Basic def. M. Holmberg - Beadsworth def. Law - Presti def. Pacé - Hansen def. Cian

Flight 17 : Law def. Basic - Beadsworth def. Presti - Hansen def. Pacé - Gram-Hansen def. M. Holmberg - P. Holmberg def. Cian

Flight 18 : Beadsworth def. Basic - Pacé def. Law - Presti def. Cian - Gram-Hansen def. Hansen - P. Holmberg def. M. Holmberg

Peter Holmberg still in the lead after day 3 (05/30/02)
(source : swedishmatchtour.com & matchrace.net)

Northerly wind which sometimes reached 25 knots enabled the competitors to race three flights of the second round robin until 2 p.m. local time.

During early afternoon hours, the wind suddenly stopped and the situation changed from another exciting day on the race course to one more day filled with interruptions. Finally, the duels continued at 4 p.m. with modest north-westerly wind which enabled two more flights.

Only three races of the second round robin took place since the weather decided to mess up the competition again and the wind stopped.

Regatta leader Peter Holmberg of Oracle Racing has notched two losses to Tomislav Basic of ACI Match Race Team and GBR Challenge's Andy Beadsworth in the day's early action.

Swedish skipper Magnus Holmberg and his Team SeaLife crew have registered three wins for one loss to move into second place overall.

Allowing the Swedes to climb the leaderboard are successive losses by Philippe Presti of Le Defi Areva who started the day in second place but has now slipped just before Bertrand Pace of Team New Zealand.

Leaderboard (skipper/Win/Losses)

Peter Holmberg (USA, Oracle Racing), 11/3
Magnus Holmberg (SWE, Victory Challenge), 10/4
Philippe Presti (FRA, Le Defi Areva), 10/5
Bertrand Pacé (NZL, Team New Zealand), 9/6
Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), 7/8
Andy Beadsworth (GBR, GBR Challenge), 7/7
Tomislav Basic (CRO), 7/8
Chris Law (GBR), 6/9
Paolo Cian (ITA, Mascalzone Latino), 4/11
Bjorn Hansen (SWE), 2/12

Results

Flight 10 : Beadsworth def. Hansen - M. Holmberg def. Law - Gram-Hansen def. Cian - P. Holmberg def. Pacé - Basic def. Presti

Flight 11 : M. Holmberg def. Cian - Pacé def. Gram-Hansen - Beadsworth def. P. Holmberg - Basic def. Hansen - Law def. Presti

Flight 12 : Gram-Hansen def. Beadsworth - Basic def. P. Holmberg - Hansen def. Law - Presti def. M. Holmberg - Pacé def. Cian

Flight 13 : P. Holmberg def. Law - Presti def. Hansen - M. Holmberg def. Pacé - Beadsworth def. Cian - Gram-Hansen def. Basic

Flight 14 : M. Holmberg def. Hansen - Pacé def. Beadsworth - Cian def. Basic - Law def. Gram-Hansen - P. Holmberg def. Presti

Flight 15 : Basic def. Pacé - Law def. Cian - Presti def. Gram-Hansen (the flight was interrupted before P. Holmberg vs Hansen and Beadsworth vs M. Holmberg)

Peter Holmberg moves to the top (05/29/02)
(source : swedishmatchtour.com)

In a truly dominating performance on a long day on the waters of Split Harbor, Swedish Match Tour Rankings leader Peter Holmberg and his Oracle Racing crew rolled off eight straight wins to take control of the Swedish Match Tour’s ACI HT Cronet Cup. Their record of eight wins against one loss sits them atop the leaderboard at the conclusion of Round Robin 1.

“It was a long day that tested boat-handling, teamwork and fitness,” said the Oracle skipper. “Every win today was a credit to teamwork, our bowman (Brad Webb) was just as important as the driver. On top of it all, the guys wanted to give a present to “Moose” (Mike Sanderson) who’s celebrating his birthday today.”

One of the more dramatic matches on the day was the final one featuring Peter Holmberg against Sweden’s Magnus Holmberg. Magnus and his Team SeaLife currently sit in second place behind the Oracle team in the overall Swedish Match Tour Rankings.

It was a close match with a spirited pre-start during which Magnus copped a penalty. The Oracle Racing team tracked the Swedes around the course, trying to keep it close while looking for an opening. The Swedish Match Tour leaders found it and passed the SeaLifers as they executed a penalty just before the finish line, crossing the line by less than a meter.

Currently in second place is Philippe Presti of Le Defi Areva with an overall record of seven wins against two losses. Not surprisingly, Presti and crew’s only loss of the day was to the Oracle Racing Team.

Jes Gram-Hansen and his Team Marienlyst provided the most excitement on the day. The Danish “amateurs” had eight collisions during the day’s action. In their first four matches alone, Team Marienlyst were assessed eight penalties. Partly as a result of their “extracurricular activity” they find themselves in the middle of the pack with an overall record of four wins and five losses.

The serious fun will start Saturday after the second round robin. Then the top four will sail best-of-three semifinals and finals.

Final RR1 leaderboard (skipper/Win/Losses)

Peter Holmberg (USA, Oracle Racing), 8/1
Philippe Presti (FRA, Le Defi Areva), 7/2
Magnus Holmberg (SWE, Victory Challenge), 6/3
Bertrand Pacé (NZL, Team New Zealand), 6/3
Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), 4/5
Andy Beadsworth (GBR, GBR Challenge), 4/5
Tomislav Basic (CRO), 3/6
Chris Law (GBR), 3/6
Paolo Cian (ITA, Mascalzone Latino), 3/6
Bjorn Hansen (SWE), 1/8

Results

Flight 2 : M. Holmberg def. Cian - Pacé def. Gram-Hansen - P. Holmberg def. Beadsworth - Basic def. Hansen - Presti def. Law

Flight 3 : Beadsworth def. Gram-Hansen - P. Holmberg def. Basic - Law def. Hansen - Presti def. M. Holmberg - Cian def. Pacé

Flight 4 : P. Holmberg def. Law - Presti def. Hansen - M. Holmberg def. Pacé - Beadsworth def. Cian - Gram-Hansen def. Basic

Flight 5 : M. Holmberg def. Hansen - Pacé def. Beadsworth - Cian def. Basic - Gram-Hansen def. Law - P. Holmberg def. Presti

Flight 6 : Pacé def. Basic - Law def. Cian - Presti def. Gram-Hansen - P. Holmberg def. Hansen - Beadsworth def. M. Holmberg

Flight 7 : P. Holmberg def. Gram-Hansen - M. Holmberg def. Basic - Law def. Beadsworth - Presti def. Pacé - Cian def. Hansen

Flight 8 : Basic def. Law - Presti def. Beadsworth - M. Holmberg def. Gram-Hansen - P. Holmberg def. Cian

Flight 9 : Beadsworth def. Basic - Pacé def. Law - Presti def. Cian - Gram-Hansen def. Hansen - P. Holmberg def. M. Holmberg

ACI HT Cronet Cup stars slowly (05/28/02)
(source : swedishmatchtour.com)

The Swedish Match Tour’s ACI HT Cronet Cup began today under steady rains and with light winds off the Adriatic Coast. Only one flight of racing was completed before race organizers postponed competition until tomorrow.

In Flight 1 the “amateurs” competing against the six America’s Cup syndicates in attendance served notice that they are here to fight this week. Swede Bjorn Hansen of the GOL Sailing Team, Denmark’s Jes Gram-Hansen and his Team Marienlyst, and local skipper Tomislav Basic all bumped off teams representing challengers for the 2003 America’s Cup.

“It was very tricky out there today, it was very windy for five minutes and then it would drop down to nothing and then start-up from another direction five minutes later,” said Bjorn Hansen. “It was tough to be a PRO (principal race officer) today, he had much worse than us.”

In the day’s “marquee match-up” Bertrand Pace of Team New Zealand defeated Swedish Match Tour Rankings leader Peter Holmberg of Oracle Racing. The other winner on the day was Team SeaLife’s Magnus Holmberg, helmsman for the Victory Challenge, who dispatched of Great Britain’s Chris Law.

Leaderboard (skipper/Win/Losses)

Tomislav Basic (CROA), 1/0
Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), 1/0
Bjorn Hansen (SWE), 1/0
Magnus Holmberg (SWE, Victory Challenge), 1/0
Bertrand Pacé (NZL, Team NZ), 1/0
Andy Beadsworth (GBR, GBR Challenge), 0 1
Paolo Cian (ITA, Masclazone Latino), 0/1
Peter Holmberg (USA, Oracle Racing), 0/1
Chris Law (GBR), 0/1
Philippe Presti (FRA, Le Défi Areva), 0/1

Results

Flight 1 : Bjorn Hansen def. Andy Beadsworth - Magnus Holmberg def. Chris Law - Jes Gram-Hansen def. Paolo Cian - Bertrand Pacé def. Peter Holmberg - Tomislav Basic def. Philippe Presti

Six America's Cupper in Split, Croatia (05/25/02)
(source : matchrace.net)

Tomorrow, ten skippers representing six America's Cup syndicates, will take to the waters off the coast of Spilt, Croatia, for the Swedish Match Tour's ACI Cup 2002.

Peter Holmberg of Larry Ellison's Oracle Racing Team, out of San Francisco, headlines the list of skippers. With two events remaining Holmberg is leading the Swedish Match Tour with 105 points.

The 40-year-old sailor from the U.S. Virgin Islands leapfrogged Sweden's Magnus Holmberg in the Swedish Match Tour rankings by winning the Steinlager/Line 7 Cup at Auckland and the Congressional in Long Beach this year, following his Bermuda Gold Cup victory in October 2001.

Joining Holmberg off the coast of Dalmatia are Victory Challenge's Magnus Holmberg and the Danish Jes Gram-Hansen. They are the closest challengers for the overall championship.

Denmark’s Jes Gram-Hansen and his Team Marienlyst match race crew parlayed their third place finish at the Swedish Match Tour’s Match Race Germany into the third place overall position on the Swedish Match Tour Championship rankings. Gram-Hansen bypassed Prada Challenge helmsman Gavin Brady who did not contest the Langenargen, Germany-based regatta.

Gram-Hansen is referrin to defending Swedish Match Tour champion Magnus Holmberg of Sweden. Holmberg and his Team SeaLife have not contested the last two Swedish Match Tour events due to commitments to the Victory Challenge for the 2003 America’s Cup syndicate based in Auckland, NZ.

Other skippers lining up in Split include Team New Zealand's Bertrand Pacé as well as Paolo Cian of the Mascalzone Latino, who has sailed extremely well at the first two events on the Swedish Match Tour this year.

Andy Beadsworth (GBR Challenge) and Philippe Presti (of le Défi Areva and his crew including Luc Pillot) are the additional America's Cuppers competing in Split.

Rounding out the are Bjorn Hansen of Sweden, Chris Law of England and native son Tomislav Basic .

The real action starts on Tuesday (28th). The series featuring a double round robin (where Skippers will be divided into two groups in which all the skippers sail against each of the others twice), followed by Quarter Finals (with four highest scoring skippers from each RR group), semi-finals and finals.