Steinlager Line 7 Cup

>> 2001

FINAL RANKING

1. PETER HOLMBERG
1. (USA, Oracle Racing)
2. JES GRAM-HANSEN
2. (DEN)
3. PAOLO CIAN
3. (ITA, Mascalzone Latino)
4. ROD DAVIS
4. (ITA, Prada Challenge)
5. GAVIN BRADY
5. Prada Challenge
6. KEN READ (USA,
6. (USA, Stars & Stripes)
7. MAGNUS HOLMBERG
7. (SWE, Victory Challenge)
8. LUC PILLOT
8. (FRA, Le Defi Areva)
9. DEAN BARKER
9. (NZL, Team New Zealand)
10. ED BAIRD
10. (USA)
11. IAN WALKER
11. (GBR, GBR Challenge)
12. ANDY GREEN
12. (GBR, GBR Challenge)

RR RESULTS

Steinlager Cup

Feeder Series

Peter Holmberg takes Steinlager Line 7 Cup (03/24/02) (source : Swedish Match Tour)
Peter Holmberg of Larry Ellison's Oracle Racing Team, out of San Francisco, won the Steinlager/Line 7 Regatta on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour, after a countback, when lack of wind prevented any competition in the final. Holmberg had a tough fight with Rod Davis of the Prada Challenge, to claim his place in the final, and faced Denmark's Jes Gram-Hansen in the final that didn't happen. Earlier in the day, the Danish reached his first Swedish Match Tour final by defeating Paolo Cian, helmsman of the Mascalzone Latino Challenge for the 2003 America's Cup 2-0. Peter Holmberg rallied after dropping his first match to Rod Davis in the semifinals to advance 2-1. When time finally ran out on Sunday afternoon, Holmberg was happy with the countback system, "the rules are the rules, we're happy to go at it either way, if the conditions came good we were anxious to race. "I'm pretty happy, the guys did a great job, we came through against Rod today, which was a tough one, we're proud to have made it through there." This is the second consecutive Swedish Match Tour event that Holmberg has won, having picked up the Bermuda Gold Cup in October last year, and he has now moved to the top of the Swedish Match Tour leaderboard. He plans to do three more Swedish Match Tour events this year, the Congressional Cup in California next month, May's ACI Cup in Croatia, and the final event on this year's circuit, Marstrand's Swedish Match Cup. In other action on the day Prada Challenge's Gavin Brady defeated Luc Pillot of the french Challenge for fifth place and Ken Read defeated Victory Challenge's Magus Holmberg for sixth place. Results of the day : SF-flight 1 : Rod Davis bt Peter Holmberg - Jes Gram-Hansen bt Paolo Cian SF-flight 2 : Peter Holmberg bt Rod Davis - Jes Gram-Hansen bt Paolo Cian SF-flight 3 : Peter Holmberg bt Rod Davis Sail off for places 5 - 8 : Ken Read bt Magnus Holmberg - Gavin Brady bt Luc Pillot
TV One's coverage

Semi-finalists set at Steinlager Line 7 Cup (03/23/02)
(source : Swedish Match Tour)

After a day of spectacular sailing on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour, Rod Davis of Prada Challenge, Oracle Racing's Peter Holmberg, Dane Jes Gram-Hansen and underdog Italian skipper Paolo Cian have progressed to the semi-finals of the Steinlager/Line 7 Cup.

The quarter-finals really produced the excitement of the day, with so many cliff-hanger matches it is impossible to choose a match of the day, though probably the skipper of the day is Denmark's Jes Gram-Hansen.

The young Dane, the only non-America's Cup skipper to make the quarter-finals, scraped his way into the semis after a come from behind win in the third and deciding race against Luc Pillot of France.

Gram-Hansen and his crew came off the starting line behind Pillot, and with two penalties against him, he took one immediately, then set out to catch and overtake his opponent, and opened up a big enough gap to take his second turn, and grab victory from the jaws of defeat.

An elated Gram-Hansen said, "we feel like winners already," when he came ashore, "this is the first time we have made the semi-finals of a Swedish Match Tour event, and against a line up like this," said the self-funded skipper.

The only skipper to go through the quarter-finals in two straight races was the "old-warhorse" of the series Rod Davis, who seemed to have little trouble in despatching Magnus Holmberg, current leader of the Swedish Match Tour.

"I'm still alive, the pacemaker's still got some charge left in it," joked Davis, "we knew we had to up our game against Magnus, and now we've got to up it again for whoever we face, because they'll be just as tough."

Ken Read, skipper for Team Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes, pushed rival America's Cup team Oracle, skippered by Peter Holmberg, all the way, but couldn't quite complete a penalty in time to prevent Holmberg from grabbing the gun in the deciding race.

The other quarter-final match was a battle of the Italian teams, with Gavin Brady of Prada facing Paolo Cian of the Mascalzone Latino Challenge, who you would have to describe as the underdog.

Cian, who is sailing his first Swedish Match Tour event, has shown this week that he will be a force to be reckoned with when the Louis Vuitton Cup starts in October, and beating Gavin Brady is a feather in his cap.

The day began with the completion of Round Robin and the biggest surprise of the Cup was the sub-par performance of Team New Zealand's Dean Barker who ended ninth and of the poor results of GBR Challenge two boys, Walker and Green were eliminated too.

Semi-Finals (first to win three races) :

Rod Davis vs Peter Holmberg
Jes Gram-Hansen vs Paolo Cian

Quarter-final results :

Flight 1 : Rod Davis bt Magnus Holmberg - Ken Read bt Peter Holmberg - Luc Pillot bt Jes Gram-Hansen - Paolo Cian bt Gavin Brady

Flight 2 : Rod Davis bt Magnus Holmberg (Davis wins) - Peter Holmberg bt Ken Read - Jes Gram-Hansen bt Luc Pillot - Gavin Brady bt Paolo Cian

Flight 3 : Peter Holmberg bt Ken Read (Holmberg wis) - Jes Gram-Hansen bt Luc Pillot (Gram-Hansen wins) - Paolo Cian be Gavin Brady (Cian wins)

RR - Final Ranking (skipper/Win/Losses)

1. Magnus Holmberg (SWE, Victory Challenge), 8/3
2. Gavin Brady (ITA, Prada Challenge), 7/4
3. Luc Pillot (FRA, Le Defi Areva), 7/4
4. Ken Read (USA, Team Dennis Conner), 6/5
5. Peter Holmberg (USA, Oracle Challenge), 6/5
6. Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), 6/5
7. Paolo Cian (ITA, Mascalzone Latino), 5/6
8. Rod Davis (ITA, Prada Challenge), 5/6
-----------------
9. Dean Barker (NZL, Team New Zealand), 5/6
10. Ed Baird (USA), 5/6
11. Ian Walker (GBR, GBR Challenge), 4/7
12. Andy Green (GBR, GBR Challenge), 2/9

Results after day 4 (who beat who)

Flight 12 : Dean Barker bt Luc Pillot - Peter Holmberg bt Ian Walker - Ken Read bt Paolo Cian - Magnus Holmberg bt Ed Baird

Flight 13 : Dean Barker bt Ed Baird - Gavin Brady bt Andy Green - Ken Read bt Jes Gram-Hansen - Magnus Holmberg bt Rod Davis

Flight 14 : Rod Davis bt Luc Pillot - Ian Walker bt Paolo Cian - Peter Holmberg bt Jes Gram-Hansen

Racing for the day 3 was abandoned (03/22/02)
(source : Swedish Match Tour)

While Auckland's Waitemata Harbour was barely ruffled by a breeze on the third day of the Steinlager Line 7 Cup, the twelve crews restlessly paced the dockside, desperate to work off some pent-up energy, and to find out who would be progressing to the quarter finals.

Neither the patience of the Peter Carr, the principal race officer for the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, nor the impatience of the crews were rewarded, when racing for the day was abandoned at 4:00 pm.

For the top four crews it was just an inconvenient waste of time, they are through to the quarter-finals, come what may, while for the rest the tension of having a Damoclean Sword hanging over their heads made for an agonizing day.

Luc Pillot Still in the Lead after day 2 (03/21/02) (source : Swedish Match Tour)
Frenchman Luc Pillot put in another strong day at the Steinlager/Line 7 Regatta, on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour, suffering only one defeat from four races, to hold top spot on the leaderboard. Pillot sailed through the early part of the day undefeated, beating Peter Holmberg, Magnus Holmberg and Ken Read, before taking a hammering at the hands of Gavin Brady. "We are again happy with that day," the self effacing Frenchman commented, "it could be a little bit better. I think against Gavin Brady, the last match, we had some bad luck, but some of the other matches we had some good luck, so overall it was fair." The day's final match featured the Swedish Match Tour's top two points leaders, Magnus Holmberg of Team SeaLife and Oracle Racing's Peter Holmberg. Magnus rallied from a poor start, a rarity in the regatta due to the tricky winds and current on Hauraki Harbor, to defeat Peter and finish the day one win off the pace. "It was a quite important win, it makes it a little easier for us tomorrow, it was good to end the day that way after losing the first two matches today," said Holmberg "it's good to see we have a bye first thing tomorrow so maybe we can wake up." Behind Luc, two skippers share second place, with a six win, three loss scoreline, Magnus Holmberg and non-America's Cup skipper Jes Gram-Hansen from Denmark and Team Marienlyst. Also assured of a place in the quarter finals is Prada Challenge's Gavin Brady, who also has six wins, but has suffered four defeats. The battle of the other four places in the quarter finals is on for young and old, with so much hanging on Friday's three remaining flights of races, and so many premutations and combinations of what could happen, nobody's fate is entirely in their own hands. Ranking (skipper/Win/Losses) 1. Luc Pillot (FRA, Le Defi Areva), 7/2 2 = Magnus Holmberg (SWE, Victory Challenge), 6/3 - Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), 6/3 4 = Gavin Brady (ITA, Prada Challenge), 6/4 5 = Paolo Cian (ITA, Mascalzone Latino), 5/4 - Ed Baird (USA), 5/4 7 = Rod Davis (ITA, Prada Challenge), 4/5 - Peter Holmberg (USA, Oracle Challenge), 4/5 - Ken 7 = Read (USA, Team Dennis Conner), 4/5 10= Dean Barker (NZL, Team New Zealand), 3/6 - Ian Walker (GBR, GBR Challenge), 3/6 12. Andy Green (GBR, GBR Challenge), 2/8 Results after day 2 (who beat who) Flight 7 : Paolo Cian bt Rod Davis - Ian Walker bt Ken Read - Jes Gram-Hansen bt Andy Green - Gavin Brady bt Magnus Holmberg - Luc Pillot bt Peter Holmberg Flight 8 : Gavin Brady bt Peter Holmberg - Jes Gram-Hansen bt Ed Baird - Luc Pillot bt Magnus Holmberg - Rod Davis bt Ian Walker - Dean Barker bt Andy Green Flight 9 : Luc Pillot bt Ken Read - Rod Davis bt Gavin Brady - , Ian Walker bt Andy Green - Ed Baird bt Paolo Cian - Magnus Holmberg bt Dean Barker Flight 10 : Paolo Cian bt Andy Green - Ed Baird bt Ian Walker - Ken Read bt Gavin Brady - Peter Holmberg bt Dean Barker - Magnus Holmberg bt Jes Gram-Hansen Flight 11 : Ed Baird bt Andy Green - Jes Gram-Hansen bt Dean Barker - Ken Read bt Rod Davis - Gavin Brady bt Luc Pillot - Magnus Holmberg bt Peter Holmberg
TV One's coverage

Luc Pillot leads after day 1 (03/20/02)
(source : Swedish Match Tour)

Perfect day in Auckland with 10 to12 knots of south westerly breeze, and sunshine that made the Waitemata Harbour sparkle, the only downside was the strong ebb tide that dictated the tactics in most races.

French skipper Luc Pillot chalked up four wins and only one loss on the opening day of the Steinlager Line 7 Regatta, to hold the top spot on the leaderboard overnight. Representing Le Defi Areva Challenge for the America's Cup, he won every start of the day, and only let one opponent pass him, after a mistake he readily admitted to.

The former physical education teacher commented at the end of the day, "we were quite happy with the day, we had four wins, it could be a little bit better." Explaining his loss to Ed Baird he said, "we won the start against Ed Baird, but I did a mistake, and we lost that match, but we are very happy, we won all the starts, so it makes us very confident for the next days."

Holding onto second place, with three wins and one loss is Sweden's Magnus Holmberg, the current leader of the Swedish Match Tour, who sailed a very steady day, only losing to Italy's Paolo Cian.

Three skippers share third place, with a three win, two loss scoreline, Gavin Brady of the Prada Challenge, Denmark's Jes Gram-Hansen, and Oracle Challenge skipper Peter Holmberg.

Probably one of the surprise packages of the first day is Paolo Cian of Italy's Mascalzone Latino Challenge, who also has three wins, but has three losses as well, a newcomer to the Swedish Match Tour, he performed better than expected.

A log-jam of five skippers share seventh place, have two wins and three losses, demonstrating just how close this series is.

While Luc Pillot may feel confident, he, like the rest of the skippers knows this regatta is far from over, and there is still all to sail for, the catch phrase of the day, "tomorrow will be tough."

Ranking (skipper/Win/Losses)

1. Luc Pillot (FRA, Le Defi Areva), 4/1
2. Magnus Holmberg (SWE, Victory Challenge), 3/1
3 = Gavin Brady (ITA, Prada Challenge), 3/2 - Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), 3/2 Peter Holmberg
3 = (USA, Oracle Challenge), 3/2
6. Paolo Cian (ITA, Mascalzone Latino), 3/3
7 = Dean Barker (NZL, Team New Zealand), 2/3 - Ed Baird (USA), 2/3 - Ken Read (USA, Team
7 = Dennis Conner), 2/3 - Rod Davis (ITA, Prada Challenge), 2/3 - Andy Green (GBR, GBR
7 = Challenge), 2/3
12. Ian Walker (GBR, GBR Challenge), 1/4

Results after day 1 (who beat who)

Flight 1 : Gavin Brady bt Dean Barker - Luc Pillot bt Jes Gram-Hansen - Ed Baird bt Ken Read - Andy Green bt Rod Davis - Paolo Cian bt Magnus Holmberg

Flight 2 : Ken Read bt Andy Green - Gavin Brady bt Jes Gram-Hansen - Peter Holmberg bt Paolo Cian - Rod Davis bt Ed Baird - Magnus Holmberg bt Ian Walker

Flight 3 : Peter Holmberg bt Ed Baird - Magnus Holmberg bt Andy Green - Rod Davis bt Dean Barker - Luc Pillot bt Ian Walker - Paolo Cian bt Gavin Brady

Flight 4 : Andy Green bt Peter Holmberg - Ian Walker bt Gavin Brady - Dean Barker bt Ken Read - Luc Pillot bt Paolo Cian - Jes Gram-Hansen bt Rod Davis

Flight 5 : Magnus Holmberg bt Ken Read - Peter Holmberg bt Rod Davis - Paolo Cian bt Dean Barker - Jes Gram-Hansen bt Ian Walker - Ed Baird bt Luc Pillot

Flight 6 : Dean Barker bt Ian Walker - Gavin Brady bt Ed Baird - Luc Pillot bt Andy Green - Jes Gram-Hansen bt Paolo Cian - Ken Read bt Peter Holmberg