RACE1 KER 11.3

IRM CLASS ASSOCIATION - PRESS RELEASE. 8TH MAY, 2002.

With over 60 boats starting the RORC Offshore Season’s curtain raiser to Le Havre the overall (IRC) result was dominated by the IRM boats taking 8 of the first 9 places of the 55 finishers. In offwind conditions favouring the lighter displacement racers the Force 2-3 NE backed to NW dropped away (totally for some) mid-Channel, returning to NE and filling to top of Force 4 by the finish. A straight 110 mile course via the Needles Bridge Mark saw the wind angle never closer than 55 deg and mostly 80-110 with Code Zeros and Jib-tops giving way to Asymmetrics and VMGs for two thirds of the trip.

Nick Hewson’s Farr 52 (IRM) "Team Tonic" held the breeze to take line honours, Class Super 0, first IRC overall and the Cervantes Trophy. The five Race1 Ker 11.3 IRM One-Designs engrossed in their private battle, still managed to take the first five places in IRC Class 0 with National Champion Robbie Cameron-Davies’ "I-Site" helmed by Race1’s Philip Crebbin 17 minutes ahead of a very close battle for 2nd place between Chris Bull’s "Kerisma" with designer Jason Ker aboard just pipping owner-driven Anthony Richards’ "Minnie the Moocher" by 11 seconds after 17 hours racing; followed nine minutes later by Nick Hartshorn’s "El Gringo" by 3 minutes from John Shepherd’s "Fair Do’s V". The Race1 Ker 11.3s with a fleet of five was the second most numerous One-Design Class entered, with Spring Series winner "Fair Do’s V" finishing more than an hour before the leading Prima 38, Julian Bates’ 10th overall "Born Slippy" and their 5 class mates. Philip Crebbin said ,"Well done to Team Tonic - a great race for IRM and a pretty good day for Race1 in that the seven boats that we were involved with took 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th places overall."

Class 1 (IRC) was convincingly ruled by the two IRM Mumm 30 entrants of Simon Sarsfield’s Race1 Works prepared Tour campaign Panther AMG 1 and Panther AMG 2 (the chartered "Indigo") achieving 2nd and 3rd overall and winning their class by more than half an hour from Gery Trentesaux’s leading IMX 40 "Courrier du Nord" that was the only Cruiser-Racer to be amongst the leading IRM boats in 7th overall. Panther AMG skipper, Rob Greenhalgh, the World Skiff No.1, and his team are producing awesome speed from their Mumm 30s, a testimony to their programme of preparation and their position as "Brits on Tour" favourites for the forthcoming Tour de France a la Voile. Rob stated, " I am very pleased with the progress that the entire squad has made and personally I am learning all the time. In the Cervantes Trophy we were thrilled with the performance of both boats as well as being able to use the exercise to really improve our offshore knowledge and organisation."

There was no threat in this race to the top crewed IRM speedsters mounted by the IRC Cruiser/Racers, that might also be seeking Commodore’s Cup places later this year, what with Chris Brown’s Beneteau First 40.7 "Fastwave" retiring early on with steering gear problems. Pity then that, unlike the IRC competitive Farr 52 and 11.3, their usual sparring partners in IRM, the Farr 40s, and the frequently predominant IC 45s, are unlikely to try for the Commodore’s Cup, (unfortunately in IRC this year rather than IRM as in 2000), due to their less competitive IRC ratings.

Action and interest in the exciting IRM Class will be focused in 2002 on Ford Cork Week’s "High Performance Class" and the IRM Class Association’s Inshore Regatta Circuit and the RORC’s Offshore programme.

CONTACTS:
RACE1 on: u2canrace1@aol.com
FULL RESULTS at: www.Rorc.org/raceresults
IRM CLASS ASSOCIATION on: secretary@IRMClass.fsnet.co.uk

PHOTOS AVAILABLE SHORTLY.




		IRM DOMINATES CERVANTES TROPHY. IRM CLASS ASSOCIATION - PRESS RELEASE. 8TH MAY, 2002. With over 60 boats starting the RORC Offshore Season’s curtain raiser to Le Havre the overall (IRC) result was dominated by the IRM boats taking 8 of the first 9 places of the 55 finishers. In offwind conditions favouring the lighter displacement racers the Force 2-3 NE backed to NW dropped away (totally for some) mid-Channel, returning to NE and filling to top of Force 4 by the finish. A straight 110 mile course via the Needles Bridge Mark saw the wind angle never closer than 55 deg and mostly 80-110 with Code Zeros and Jib-tops giving way to Asymmetrics and VMGs for two thirds of the trip. Nick Hewson’s Farr 52 (IRM) "Team Tonic" held the breeze to take line honours, Class Super 0, first IRC overall and the Cervantes Trophy. The five Race1 Ker 11.3 IRM One-Designs engrossed in their private battle, still managed to take the first five places in IRC Class 0 with National Champion Robbie Cameron-Davies’ "I-Site" helmed by Race1’s Philip Crebbin 17 minutes ahead of a very close battle for 2nd place between Chris Bull’s "Kerisma" with designer Jason Ker aboard just pipping owner-driven Anthony Richards’ "Minnie the Moocher" by 11 seconds after 17 hours racing; followed nine minutes later by Nick Hartshorn’s "El Gringo" by 3 minutes from John Shepherd’s "Fair Do’s V". The Race1 Ker 11.3s with a fleet of five was the second most numerous One-Design Class entered, with Spring Series winner "Fair Do’s V" finishing more than an hour before the leading Prima 38, Julian Bates’ 10th overall "Born Slippy" and their 5 class mates. Philip Crebbin said ,"Well done to Team Tonic - a great race for IRM and a pretty good day for Race1 in that the seven boats that we were involved with took 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th places overall." Class 1 (IRC) was convincingly ruled by the two IRM Mumm 30 entrants of Simon Sarsfield’s Race1 Works prepared Tour campaign Panther AMG 1 and Panther AMG 2 (the chartered "Indigo") achieving 2nd and 3rd overall and winning their class by more than half an hour from Gery Trentesaux’s leading IMX 40 "Courrier du Nord" that was the only Cruiser-Racer to be amongst the leading IRM boats in 7th overall. Panther AMG skipper, Rob Greenhalgh, the World Skiff No.1, and his team are producing awesome speed from their Mumm 30s, a testimony to their programme of preparation and their position as "Brits on Tour" favourites for the forthcoming Tour de France a la Voile. Rob stated, " I am very pleased with the progress that the entire squad has made and personally I am learning all the time. In the Cervantes Trophy we were thrilled with the performance of both boats as well as being able to use the exercise to really improve our offshore knowledge and organisation." There was no threat in this race to the top crewed IRM speedsters mounted by the IRC Cruiser/Racers, that might also be seeking Commodore’s Cup places later this year, what with Chris Brown’s Beneteau First 40.7 "Fastwave" retiring early on with steering gear problems. Pity then that, unlike the IRC competitive Farr 52 and 11.3, their usual sparring partners in IRM, the Farr 40s, and the frequently predominant IC 45s, are unlikely to try for the Commodore’s Cup, (unfortunately in IRC this year rather than IRM as in 2000), due to their less competitive IRC ratings. Action and interest in the exciting IRM Class will be focused in 2002 on Ford Cork Week’s "High Performance Class" and the IRM Class Association’s Inshore Regatta Circuit and the RORC’s Offshore programme. CONTACTS: RACE1 on: u2canrace1@aol.com FULL RESULTS at: www.Rorc.org/raceresults IRM CLASS ASSOCIATION on: secretary@IRMClass.fsnet.co.uk PHOTOS AVAILABLE SHORTLY.