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Oman Air were in peak form in Marina Funchal today and made a clean sweep of podium places to boost their chances of a final day victory at the Extreme Sailing Series Madeira.
A fresher breeze on the third day gave the GC32 fleet a chance to give the spectators lining the shores on the south coast of the island an invigorating show of speed and action and it was Oman Air that led the way with seven podium places – including two outright wins – in seven races.
From lying in third place overnight, they worked their way up to second but an incident between event leaders Alinghi and Red Bull Sailing Team, which resulted in the loss of Alinghi’s mast and an enforced retirement from racing, means that overnight, Oman Air were still five points adrift of Alinghi’s provisional total after redress.
“Red Bull had a bit of a bump with Alinghi which took the Swiss out of the picture but had they still been racing, it could have been a very different day,” explained Pete Greenhalgh, Oman Air’s mainsail trimmer and tactician.
“It gave us the chance to put points on the board and chip away at their lead but they will be back in the fray tomorrow so we still have everything to do.
“It wasn’t a bad day but there were a few things we could have done better. It would have been a better day had we won every race but we know where we can improve so hopefully tomorrow, we will keep things tight, get a good number of races in and turn the tables.”
Oman Air sit four points ahead of Red Bull Sailing Team in the rankings and six above SAP Extreme Sailing Team, who have 119 points but Nasser Al Mashari, Oman Air bowman said a final day of action could see the leaderboard turned upside down.
“We have seen some very good sailing from SAP and Red Bull and if they carry on like that tomorrow, especially with the double points final race, they will definitely be in the mix and we will have to make sure we are on top of our game to stay ahead.
“But we are feeling positive because this is a top crew, we are sailing well and we really want to win this first event in Madeira.”
Racing in Madeira, which has featured a mix of open water racing and the Series’ signature Stadium Racing, concludes tomorrow Sunday 25 September just off the shore of Marina Funchal.
The free to enter public Race Village is open but fans from further afield can enjoy multi-media coverage and live streaming of the on-the-water action online from 15:30 – 17:00 Local Time (GMT +1).
