Green Comm Racing’s Vasilij Žbogar satisfied with result: Day 1 - 2011 America’s Cup World Series
Spain’s Green Comm Racing, led by Vasilij Žbogar did not have a superb start, as the boat finished on seventh place in the overall standings after the conclusion of first day at the 2011 America’s Cup World Series in San Diego. The Spanish team clinched
a ninth and a sixth spot in both races of the day to hit the seventh spot with eight points.
First day racing at San Diego Bay was covered in raining and was surrounded by shifty winds which blew with less force over the racing area. The nine-boat AC World fleet was limited to commence only two races on Day 1 due to such tough forecast.
First race of the event saw tough competition for the Spanish boat, as inconsistent winds assisted by heavy rain made it difficult to have a convincing sail. Žbogar’s crew crossed the finish line on ninth position in Race 1, while in the second they were
able to clinch sixth podium ahead of Oracle Racing Spithill to claim seventh finish overall.
Speaking to local media about their performance, Žbogar said, “In the first race it seemed we couldn't keep the speed up. We were quite heavy, the practice sailor onboard was also very heavy and as a result the acceleration of the boat was very slow. We
had a good start but we were simply too slow and everybody caught up with us and passed us.”
He added, “In the second race we had quite a lighter team and under these conditions we were much faster. Despite a slight mistake at the start, we stayed very close to the rest of the fleet and managed to pass three boats, finishing sixth. We still have
a lot to learn in order to improve. Still, we managed to finish ahead of Spithill in the last race.”
Overall standings at the conclusion of Day 1 are given below:
1. Emirates Team New Zealand, Dean Barker 2, 3 - 17 points
2. Artemis Racing, Terry Hutchinson 1, 4 - 17 points
3. China Team, Charlie Ogletree 5, 1 - 16 points
4. ORACLE Racing Coutts, Darren Bundock 4, 2 - 16 points
5. ORACLE Racing Spithill, James Spithill 3, 8 - 11 points
6. Energy Team, Yann Guichard 7, 5 - 10 points
7. Green Comm Racing, Vasilij Žbogar 9, 6 - 8 points
8. Team Korea, Chris Draper 6, 9 - 8 points
9. ALEPH, Pierre Pennec 8, 7 - 7 points
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