PWA Fuerteventura Slalom
Tag 8: Weniger Wind, die siebte Elimination wurde gestartet, jedoch nicht zu Ende gefahren.
Der Tag begann mit starker Bewölkung, nicht gerade die besten Voraussetzungen für starken Wind im Süden Fuerteventuras. Kurz nach Mittag legte der Wind doch noch zu, allerdings nicht mehr so stark wie an den beiden Vortagen. Bei 10- 20 Knoten Wind, die Racer waren mit 8.5er und 7.8er Segeln auf dem Wasser, wurde die siebte Elimination gestartet. Bevor jedoch die beiden Finals gefahren werden konnten, schlief der Wind ein. Elimination Seven For the first time this week Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North) was knocked out of an elimination - before today the Italian had qualified for all six winners’ finals, but failed to qualify from Heat 10 as Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde), Ethan Westera (Starboard / GA Sails), Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde) and Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) advanced. The Italian will be able to discard the result once the road is complete, but Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) will have an opportunity to extend his lead in the winners’ final tomorrow. In Heat 11 Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) made a storming comeback to defy the odds and make the next round. The Brit looked out of contention after the first gybe, but somehow managed to battle back to pip Kasper Larsen (Starboard / Loft Sails) into fourth place as they crossed the finish line. Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) looked to have his place in the final secured, but Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Point-7) came flying down the final leg to grab the final qualifying place. Meanwhile, Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic), Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails) and Ross Williams completed the top four. Maciek Rutkowski (Patrik / Point-7) enjoyed his fair share of bad luck yesterday - after being taken out twice when in a qualifying place - but today things clicked as the Pole navigated his way into his first winners’ final of the week after coming second in Heat 13 - Italian Malte Reuscher also booked his place in his opening winners’ final of the event after holding off Julien Quentel for fourth. Antoine Albeau safely secured his place in the final again after a convincing victory, whilst Ben Van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) also qualified. The winners’ final was started which resulted in Taty Frans being disqualified for a premature start. One more attempt was made to sail the final, but the wind dropped just before the green flag. After a short period on hold the fleet was released for the day at 5:25pm The forecast looks lighter than today and with the gradient wind predicted to be more from the North it could prove tricky to complete further races tomorrow. With cloud also being predicted for the morning the skippers’ meeting has been called for 11am with the action commencing from 11:30am. You’ll be able to follow all of the action as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker at www.pwaworldtour.com.