Alinghi's D35 wins "at home"

9 September, 2019

The traditions were good: a warm welcome and a flawless organisation by the Club nautique de Crans for the traditional Alinghi Grand Prix, the raclette (eight machines melting the cheese!) shared by all competitors, a teasing wind and rain to announce the arrival of autumn...

And the novelties were appreciated: the 'young' series of catamarans, Nacra 15, responded to the invitation to race and the Société nautique de Nyon also strengthened the ranks.

At the end of the five validated races, Alinghi confirms its good form in the "Grand Prix" form of the races and took the win ahead of Eleven Sailing Team and Realteam Sailing.

Ernesto Bertarelli, helmsman
"Very nice weekend despite the few races. We waited a lot on the water, but the races we did sail were very beautiful, especially last night in the Joran, which was fabulous with a nice breeze. And then we sailed well.
"A special mention about our start on our last race with a starboard position windward, launched to cover the entire fleet. The level of the sailors is strong on Lake Geneva, the fleet is compact and so it's nice when you get to start like this."

Bryan Mettraux, trimmer
"The key thing is consistency. Try to do the simple things and do them well. That's what pays on the D35.
"Nico was also strong this weekend. Good starts, clean manoeuvres and good speed, all matched with a good tactics is a winning ticket.
"Our main opponent in the championship (Ylliam-Comptoir Immobilier) could not allow for a single mistake and I think that they focused more on us than on themselves. It's complicated to sail this way. They are super good, they know very well how to race, but here they have missed."

Nicolas Charbonnier, tactician
"We spent a lot of time on the water waiting for the wind, while trying to stay alert about what was happening or what could happen, so that we would be right in the game when the regattas were launched. We did five rounds, albeit four for us because we had enough of a lead to win before the end (the worst score being removed from four races validated). We really sailed well by being very regular at the starts, which, having executed well, we could easily go to the side of the race course that we wanted. A dream weekend. Even the traditional raclette on Saturday night was fabulous!"

In the provisional season rankings, Alinghi increased its lead with six points on the clock. Ylliam-Comptoir Immobilier has 12 and Eleven Sailing Team 17.

While waiting for the closing Grand Prix of the 2019 D35 Championship (September 20th and 21st at the SNG), the team will head towards Riva del Garda this Monday morning for the fourth stage of the GC32 Racing Tour (regattas from September 12th to 15th).

Grand Prix Alinghi de Crans, ranking after five races (the worst score being withdrawn):
1st - Alinghi: 6 points
2nd - Eleven Sailing Team: 10 points
3rd - Realteam Sailing: 12 points
Click here for all the results.

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To find out more about how to follow the racing, the team composition and the circuit in general, find the event recap by clicking here.