Pressure mounting in tricky conditions on Marina Bay
At the pre-race press conference on the second day of Act 9 in Singapore, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild skipper Pierre Pennec told the press: “We are extremely happy to be in contention for the overall title – it’s going to be tight racing against Luna Rossa…” And the game of cat and mouse that started on the opening day, continued unabated on day 2. Paul Campbell-James, helmsman on Luna Rossa, was more emphatic stating: “We will make sure we beat them in as many races as possible!”.The French and Italian teams are locked in a furious battle for the 2011 overall championship, and today the Italians’ game plan was on track giving Luna Rossa the advantage: “At the moment it’s working well but there are still too many races to go,” said Luna Rossa skipper Max Sirena. “We are happy to be in front and we just have to do the same in the next three days. It was really hard today, really shifty and I’m really happy because normally in these conditions we struggle a little bit but today we managed to sail well.” But no one is underestimating the French team’s ability, as Pennec’s team has shown in the past with their backs against the wall, they can quickly rally and turn the tables on their adversary. Although the conditions today on Marina Bay were difficult for all the teams, Roman Hagara’s Red Bull Sailing Team has managed to retain the top spot on the Singapore leaderboard.
