Foto copyright Christophe Launay
Fuente info Mer & Media
ONE DAY TO GO: THE TEAM SHEET FOR ENERGY TEAM
Friday, 5th August 2011
Press Release
Loïck Peyron has announced his line-up and this morning revealed the names of the crewmen who will be alongside him aboard the Energy Team AC45 from tomorrow for the first event in the AC World Series, which is taking place in Cascais (Portugal). The crew has only been in training since 20th July, firstly in Lisbon, then in Cascais and will be racing for the first time tomorrow against the eight other one-design catamarans competing in the World Series (the preparatory circuit for the 2013 America's Cup). Four fleet races are scheduled for this weekend as well as a 500m speed trial. We should add that all of the racing will be transmitted live on the official website americascup.com. But for now, let us take a look at the crew that will be aboard Energy Team tomorrow.
Five men on board:
- Loïck Peyron (Fra), Skipper-helmsman
Winner this year of the Barcelona World Race aboard a monohull, he followed that with the Round Britain and Ireland record aboard the giant trimaran Banque Populaire V aboard which he will be setting off this winter to tackle the Jules Verne Trophy. Loïck Peyron is one of the world’s leading multihull specialists. Five ORMA championship titles, second in The Race, three times winner of the single-handed transatlantic race from Plymouth, three circumnavigations, and more than forty Atlantic crossings, including 18 solo crossings. Loick has achieved success since the start of his career racing in all sorts of events and on all types of boat. In 2010 he was a key figure in the Alinghi team in the America’s Cup.
- Peter Greenhalgh (UK), wing sail trimmer
Peter is a leading specialist in 49er sailing and is well known for his skills as a mainsail trimmer and tactician. In the top five in the world from 2000 to 2003, he was European Champion alongside Chris Draper in 2010. A talented racer, who has acquired a reputation for his professionalism, Peter Greenhalgh has never hid the fact that he wanted to compete in the America’s Cup. He is now able to do just that as he will be in the position of mainsail trimmer or more precisely wing sail trimmer for Energy Team.
- Christophe André (Fra), Bowman
A match racing specialist, Christophe was a member of the French team in 1996 as bowman. He won the French Championship title (in 2004) and European Championship (in 2005), with Sébastien Col’s crew. 2nd in the World Match Racing Tour in 2008 and top of the ISAF world rankings between 2006 and 2009, Christophe knows the America's Cup well, as he was a crewman on the "Défi" in 2004 before joining "Areva Challenge" in the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup. He has been training more on multihulls since 2009 (Extreme 40, D35 and MOD70), and will be in his favourite position on board as bowman.
- Devan Le Bihan (Fra), Trimmer
Devan Le Bihan gained experience in the demanding World Match Racing Tour in 2009 where he showed his ability to adapt. In 2010 he took part in the Extreme Sailing Series on the foredeck of Groupama 40 alongside Franck Cammas. Devan is used to close contact sailing and stood out in the 2011 World Match Racing Tour working alongside Damien Iehl, winning the first leg of the season in Marseilles. He joined Energy Team to take up the post of trimmer.
- Jean-Sébastien Ponce (Fra), Trimmer
Five times winner of the Tour de France Sailing Race alongside Daniel Souben, Jean-Sébastien races on a large variety of monohulls, but has also built up a solid experience of multihull racing. A crewman for Jean-Luc Nélias on the Belgacom trimaran for four years, he has sailed on a Formula 18, KL28 and in the Extreme 40 and D35 circuits. Six times world champion, Jean-Sébastien has won four European titles and no fewer than 18 national championships. This top class racer has developed his skills as a trimmer. And it is this job he will be carrying out aboard Energy Team.
Nine teams competing:
Nine AC45s will be lining up for the start tomorrow in Cascaïs. They are:
- Oracle (USA), Defender with two boats skippered respectively by Russell Coutts and James Spithill,
- Artemis (SWE), challenger of record. Skipper: Terry Hutchinson,
- Team New Zealand (NZ). Skipper: Dean Barker,
- China Team (China). Skipper: Mitch Booth,
- Team Korea (South Korea). Skipper: Chris Draper,
- GreenComm racing (Spain). Skipper: Vasilij Zbogar,
- Aleph (Fra). Skipper: Bertrand Pacé
- Energy Team (Fra). Skipper: Loïck Peyron.
Four fleet races scheduled this weekend
Two events are planned for this weekend within the AC World Series programme: the "Cascais AC Open" and the "AC 500 Speed Trial".
On Saturday three fleet races lasting around 20 minutes will take place, followed by a speed trial over a distance of 500 metres.
On Sunday, the teams will race in the fourth fleet race, which is set to last around 40 minutes.
Watch the races as they happen
All of the races counting towards the AC World Series will be broadcast live on the official website www.americascup.com.
Take a look this weekend from 1400 hrs local time (1300hrs GMT / 1500hrs CET).
