Even the best are not safe from capsizing: Here Baur / Groy test the Baltic Sea temperature in the fifth race. You finished third in this race
On the second day of the Volvo Champions Race off Travemünde, the placements were dicey in difficult wind conditions. It was a day without a happy ending, especially for the best German 49er crew.
The day didn't start well for Marcus Baur and Max Groy - and ended badly. After yesterday's three races, the duo was in second place in the Travemünde standings and thus clearly on course to take the overall lead in the 2004 Volvo Champions Race. The team then improved and was back in first place before the last race. But then Baur / Groy decided on the first cross of the ninth race for the wrong side and ended up at the end of the field. It was only a tenth place until the finish line. They slipped into third place in the Travemünde ranking.
Tomorrow is crucial for Baur / Groy. They have almost won the overall series, which will be rewarded with 5,000 euros. Because the Danish brothers Hansen, who are tied in the overall standings so far, made a mistake today and said goodbye in ninth place. But in order to be able to top up the premium exchange to the maximum, Baur / Groy would have to do magic again tomorrow. The victory in Travemünde would be rewarded with an additional 3,000 euros.
The best German junior team, the Kiel brothers Jan-Peter and Hannes Peckolt, sailed a very good series, but had to take a full score into the series due to a collision through no fault of their own in the last race, in which the underwater hull also got a crack. Because already in the first race they were disqualified because of a controversial protest decision in favor of Baur / Groy. However, the Peckolts filed for redress and were used for the final race in sixth place. So tomorrow they even have the chance to overtake Baur / Groy, which would be a little revenge for the lost protest from the first race
The overall leaders in the tornado, Australian Darren Bundock and his British crewmember Will Howden
In the tornado, the 5,000 euros for the overall winner are probably also awarded. The Australian Darren Bundock and his British crewmember Will Howden were able to maintain their lead and extend it in front of their toughest competitors, the Austrian Olympic gold medalists Roman Hagar and Hans Peter Steinacher. These are slipping down to fourth place today.
Roland Gäbler was dissatisfied with his performance. The bronze medalist from Sydney 2000 and eleventh from Athens 2004 traveled directly from the beach sails world championships in St. "We made brilliant starts, but then we often chose the wrong tactic. I wanted to know better", summarized Roland Gäbler. At the end of the day, Gäbler and Struckmann finished tenth.
The best German team are Johannes Polgar and Florian Spalteholz in eighth place. Polgar especially praised his bow, with which he sails the first real race. "It is remarkable how quickly Florian got used to the tornado and how hard he is fighting," said Polgar.
How relaxed the team is. Showed it on lunch break. With their tornado they managed to get the waterskiing expert Tino Mittelmeier gliding during a stunt show for the audience. "There was almost too little wind for that and we dragged Timo through the water quite nicely at first," said Polgar happily.
Tomorrow there are four more races in the tornadoes and three in the 49ers. Then it is also clear who will collect the prize money. In the Volvo Champions Race, which consists of three individual events per year, the first three places in each class can win € 6,500 per tour stop (€ 3,000 for the winner, € 2,000 for the second and € 1,500 for the third). In addition, in the overall ranking, prize money will be awarded to the first five teams in each class (5,000 euros for the winner, 4,000, 3,000, 2,000 and 1,000 euros up to fifth place). A total of 70,000 euros will be paid out per season.