Day 3 of the Audi Medcup in Alicante saw Mean Machine win the 30 mile coastal race, Matthew Sheahan reports
Two wins yesterday and another today was enough to launch Peter de Ridder’s brand new Judel/Vrolijk designed Mean Machine into the overall lead, displacing the former leader Bribon into fourth.
De Ridder’s success came after a long day in light conditions on a 30 mile course that took the fleet around Tabarca Island.
In today’s video offering, once you’re past the scene setting, Quantum tactician Terry Hutchinson gives a brief overview of the new team’s targets for this event. The Quantum team now trail the leaders by just one point, and have performed so consistently throughout the series so far that they are perfectly poised to be a serious contender for overall victory. Definitely the one to watch.
Meanwhile, just one point behind them, the largely amateur team of Tau, using last year’s winning boat and last year’s sails, is currently occupying third and proving so far that you don’t need a budget the size of a small country’s GDP to get into the chocolates. At least, not at the moment, but things may change when the big guns start to fire on all cylinders.
Back to the video snippet and Peter de Ridder describes how his team has got back on track after a disappointing start to the series.
Video courtesy Sunset Vine|APP
Provisional Standings after six races
(Position, Boat, Country, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6a, R6b, Total Points)
1st Mean Machine MON (7, 16, 5, 1, 1, 1, 1, 32)
2nd Quantum USA (4, 5, 9, 3, 2, 4, 6, 33)
3rd TAU Ceramica Andalucía ESP (1, 1, 6, 9, 9, 3, 5, 34)
4th Bribón ESP (3, 3, 1, 4, 4, 12, 9, 36)
5th Mutua Madrileña ESP (2, 4, 8, 8, 3, 6, 12, 43)
6th Artemis SWE (12, 11, 4, 10, 7, 2, 2, 48)
7th Platoon by Team Germany GER (5, 9, 2, 5, 14, 8, 8, 51)
8th Matador ARG (10, 14, 3, 2, 10, 5, 10, 54)
9th El Desafío ESP (9, 6, 7, 11, 5, 11, 7, 56)
10th Cristabella GBR (11, 2, 15, 7, 12, 10, 4, 61)