Award ceremony of the tornadoes: Bundock / Ashby win, Gäbler / Raupach come third
The Australian tornado sailors Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby have won the second stage of the Volvo Champions Race on Lake Cospuden in Leipzig. "Bundee", four-time world champion in the tornado class, and his bowman Glenn Ashby still had to fight on the final day on the Cospudener See.
The pursuers Peder Ronholt and Mads Möller from Denmark made good ground in three races in good wind conditions with 4th, 2nd and 3rd place and came threateningly close to the Australians. Roland Gäbler secured third place with his 13-year-old replacement crew from Leipzig, Marcus Raupach.
The biggest surprise of the day, however, was provided by the two young people from Baden-Württemberg, Tino and Niko Mittelmeier (Überlingen), who received the lion's share of the applause on the beach with three daily victories in the refreshing wind. The brothers simply sailed up and away from the assembled international competition and finished the second stage of the Volvo Champions Race in fourth place.
In the 49er class, the Olympic runner-up from Athens, Rodion Luk (Ukraine) with his Danish crew member Peter Krueger, was in a class of his own and decided the event well. The Ukrainian top sailor coped perfectly with the light wind conditions in Leipzig and once again underlined his leading position in sailing.
Hatch engaged the Dane Peter Krueger for the Leipzig sailing event. In Starnberg, the Austrian Christoph Siebert jumped in for Lukas, who was unable to do so, George Leontschuk. Second place in Leipzig went to the young Austrians Nico Delle-Karth and Nikolaus Resch, who delivered very consistent races on Lake Cospuden. The European champions Marcus Baur (Kiel) and Max Groy (Fleckeby) finished third and thus best Germans in the class.
The second German top team - the Hamburg brothers Jan-Peter and Hanes Peckolt - sailed after their usual form, but did not quarrel, but both were happy about the great interest of the audience. "We had to answer questions non-stop," says Hannes Peckolt, "the visitors wanted to know everything about our boats."
A total of 24,000 spectators flocked to the north beach of the Cospudener See to experience the world's sailing elite for the first time in the Saxon metropolis and to celebrate in the party tent in the evening and enjoy the fireworks over the lake. "We enjoyed Leipzig," says Thomas Hanel, member of the Volvo Car Germany management team, "and we hope that the people of Leipzig also enjoyed us."
Result Volvo Champions Race Leipzig
Tornado class, final result after 10 races:
1. Darren Bundock / Glenn Ashby (Australia), 21 points 2. Peder Ronholt / Mads Möller (Denmark), 24 points3. Roland Gäbler (Tinglev) / Marcus Raupach (Leipzig), 30 points4. Tino and Niko Mittelmeier (Überlingen), 32 points5. Mitch Booth / Herbert Dercksen (Netherlands), 33 points6. Jordanis Paschalidis / Konstantinos Trigonis (Greece), 36 points7. Johannes Polgar (Kiel) / Taylor Booth (Netherlands), 47 points8. Carolijn Brouwer (Netherlands) / Sebastian Godefroid (Belgium), 51 point
49er class, final result after 10 races:
1. Rodion Luk (Ukraine) / Peter Krueger (Denmark) 22 points 2. Nico Delle-Karth / Nikolaus Resch (Austria), 28 points3. Marcus Baur (Kiel) / Max Groy (Fleckeby), 31 points4. Peter and Sören Hansen (Denmark), 34 points5. Allan Norregard / Jonatan Age Persson (Denmark), 35 points6. Athanasios Pachoumas / Dimitros Benakis (Greece), 47 points7. Christoffer Sundby / Frode Bovim (Norway), 49 points8. Jonas Warrer / Martin Kirketerp (Denmark), 51 points