Russia's Gazprom Team Russia finished sixth after seven races of the first day of the 5th stage of Extreme Sailing Series, held in St. Petersburg. The Russians started the day well, finishing third in the first race. Over the course of the day, the team managed to take third place once again and then fourth, but by the end of the day the guys got tired and gave up their positions.
«By the end of the day we were noticeably tired, and this affected the results - commented the helmsman of the Russian team, Phil Robertson- this is what we will pay attention to tomorrow - the importance of proper distribution of energy».
St. Petersburg is the northernmost city on the map of the Extreme Sailing Series and the first day of the speed catamaran races fully corresponded to the geographic location of the city. The day before, during the official training, the sun was shining brightly, but the test starts were held at a temperature of +15, total clouds and gusty wind.
Gazprom Team Russia joined the Extreme Sailing Series in the middle of the season, having received a wild-card from the organizers.» Unlike other teams in the series, the Russian crew had virtually no experience of competing in the new «winged GC32 catamarans, which replaced the Extreme 40 from this year.
«I gave my guys a bit of a battle yesterday, making them change sails at the last second thinking I was still on the Extreme 40, but these GC32s are so fast it's clear you can't do that any more," said Phil Robertson. - The whole point here is to be smart and calculate what can happen next on the course. We were one of the fastest boats in terms of average speed, but we went the longest distance, so we're going to try and slow it down a little bit today, even though it goes against everything. It's a different game and we'll try to adapt as soon as possible».
The early leaders of the Extreme Sailing Series Stage 5 standings were SAP Extreme's Danes. After the first day, the team came out on top with a minimum advantage of one point. As the Danish crew helmsman Jes Graeme-Jensen noted at the press conference, last season SAP Extreme was last in St. Petersburg, and now the team aims to prove that they can win.
Oman Air's overall season leaders were leading early in the day, before an unfortunate collision with a buoy on the course pushed the team to third. Switzerland's Alinghi thanks to three wins finished second.
Competitions of the fifth stage of Extreme Sailing Series continued in St. Petersburg on September 2. The start of the race was traditionally at 14:00. The racing village on the beach of Peter and Paul Fortress is open for visitors during the day.
