Issue date
New Zealand’s Peter Burling and Blair Tuke just seem to keep getting better!
Competing in Barcelona, Spain at the 2016 49er and 49erFX European Championships the kiwis added more bullets to their score-card today and are now 34 points out in front with two days of the regatta remaining.
Today the regatta shifted up a gear, advancing to gold fleet finals racing for the top 25 placed men’s Olympic 49er crews, who sailed three races on day four of the Championship.
Burling and Tuke opened with a race win, then placed 6th, and finished the day with another win. They’ve won eight of twelve races sailed in Barcelona this week, and finished top three in all but two.
“Burling and Tuke continue to put on a master class the likes of which sailing may never have seen if they can hold through to London,” writes the 49er Class Manager Ben Remocker.
“If they win out the rest of this this regatta, Hyeres, the South American’s and then of course Rio itself, Burling and Tuke will have won 28 straight 49er regattas, and won every regatta of an entire quadrennial.”
“While teams were impressed with their performances back at the 2013 World Championship in Marseille or the 2013 European Championship in Aarhus, it was generally assumed that once the fleet really got into the quad and everyone was at top capacity, the fleet would claw them back, as it always seems to be able to do in Olympic classes with so many minds fighting for every inch and relatively few equipment variable to leave systemic gains hidden.”
“Clawing back the Kiwis has not happened, far from it. Their wins in Buenos Aires for Worlds 2015, Clearwater for Worlds 2016, were both by untouchable margins by the end, and they are 34 points ahead of second place already.”
Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen are lying 2nd overall, 34 points behind the NZL Sailing Team pair. After a solid day on the water the Australian’s have advanced from Great Britain’s John Pink and Stuart Bithell who are in 3rd place and 19 points adrift.
New Zealand’s Alex Maloney and Molly Meech had a mixed day on the 49erFX course and have slipped down the standings as a result.
In today’s first two races the NZL Sailing Team crew placed 20th and 22nd, bouncing back in the 3rd race with a 6th place finish. They’re now lying 9th overall on 81 points.
At the top of the leader board Spain’s Tamara Echegoyen and Berta Betanzos have ousted Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich, of Italy, from the lead – but only one point separates the two crews.
The Aon Fast Track Squad 49erFX crew of Erica Dawson and Ellie Copeland had a similar day with one keeper and a couple of average results – they’re now in 19th overall.
Logan Dunning-Beck and Jack Simpson, also Aon Fast Track Squad sailors, had their best day of the regatta yet returning three single digit results racing in the 49er gold fleet. They move up the ranks to 14th overall.
The regatta has two days of competition remaining, with the podium places set to be determined on Saturday in Spain.
2016 49er and 49erFX European Championships, Barcelona, Spain
New Zealand’s current standings
49er
1st Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (1, 1, 2, 1, 3, 1, 6, 1, 1, 1,6, 1)
14th Logan Dunning-Beck and Jack Simpson (9, 11, 17, 15, 14, 10, 5, 21, 14, 7, 9, 5)
49erFX
9th Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (1, 4, 4, 5, 5, 11, 2, 12, 1, 20, 22, 6)
19th Erica Dawson and Ellie Copeland (10, 9, 9, 7, 15, 11, 2, 4, 10, 4, 28, 25)
Regatta website: http://49er.org/2016-european-championship/
For more information contact:
Jodie Bakewell-White, Communications Manager, Yachting New Zealand
e. Jodie@yachtingnz.org.nz
m. 021 709 065
