K-Challenge passe la premiere bouee en tete K-Challenge round the first buoy ahead

A VICTORY FOR K-CHALLENGE !

Malmö-Skane, Sweden - 2005-09-03

K-Challenge took a first place in the first race of the day. They sailed the race brilliantly from beginning to end. The team finally realized its full capabilities, proving that all the hard work since Louis Vuitton Acts 4 & 5 in Valencia has really paid off.


Stephan Kandler, CEO of K-Challenge, declares: “It has been a very beautiful day, and a reward for all the work that has been carried out for the past 3 and a half years. We showed that we are able to be competitive and play with larger teams, even though we currently have one of the lowest budgets of all the teams in the 32nd America’s Cup. I believe that this victory confirms that the potential is there and with the support of sponsors, we will be there in 2007 with all the equipment and experience necessary to compete at the highest level. We are very happy and proud today, but will continue to work hard.”



Today FRA 60, winner of the America’s Cup in 2000, led the race against a fleet of 2003 and 2005 generation boats.



Also note that today, Dawn Riley was on board FRA 60. She is the only woman to have won the America’s Cup (1992), and was back on board in the pit, for the first time since the beginning of the Louis Vuitton Acts in Malmö. As general manager of the team, she noted the motivation of all the team members who were sailing today, even if they only took 9th place in the second race.



Thierry Peponnet, Skipper and Helmsman, reflects on the strong moments: “We had a good start. We wanted to be on the right and were the third boat to tack after the start. We managed to hold our position next to BMW Oracle Racing until the layline, then we took a long starboard tack into the mark and proved to be faster than them. We covered them well and were able to preserve our lead all the way to the finish. We were really focused and believed in ourselves! The pressure was only relieved at the end because the gap had widened.”



Tanguy Cariou, Tactician confirms: “We really followed our strategic plan on the first leg. We succeeded in making our maneuvers without yielding to the pressure. On the other hand, the second race was much more difficult, especially at the first windward mark, where the situation was very tight. There was contact with BMW Oracle Racing who tacked in front of us and then contact with Mascalzone Latino Capitalia. We were not able to make a good rounding and put up the spinnaker as quickly as our adversaries, which slowed us down.”



“It is clear that the boat has great potential in 10 knots of wind. We become a threat to the other competitors in these conditions. We can still improve, but the limits of the boat are known. We sailed well, and gained on the beats. I am really pleased because we have really improved on our starts”, concludes Thierry Peponnet.



Dawn Riley notes, with humor, “We ended up winning a race, and perhaps all these old obsolete sailors are finally wrong when they say that a woman has no place sailing in the America’s Cup.”



Act 7 concludes tomorrow, with one last fleet race in Malmö-Skåne.



Malmö-Skåne Louis Vuitton Act 7 Results and Points Leaderboard
Team Points

1 Alinghi (2,4,1) 32

1 BMW ORACLE Racing (1,2,4) 32

3 Luna Rossa Challenge (6,3,2) 28

4 Emirates Team New Zealand (4,6,3) 26

4 Desafío Español 2007 (3,5,5) 26

6 K-Challenge (10,1,9) 19

7 United Internet Team Germany (5,10,7) 17

7 +39 Challenge (9,7,6) 17

9 Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team (8,8,11) 12

10 Team Shosholoza (7,11,10) 11

11Victory Challenge (12,9,8) 10

12 China Team (11,12,12) 4










Stephanie Nadin

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