Audi 2007 Annual Report Download - page 127

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the World Race winner Paul Cayard
from the U.S. Everyone who’s anyone in
professional sailing seems to be involved
– or wants to be. Schümann has an easy
explanation for this interest: “All the top
teams from the America’s Cup are also
lining up at the start in TP yachts. After
the America’s Cup, the TP series is the
toughest sailing event.”
The success story of the TP52 class is
consistently adding new chapters by the
year. The class is not only popular in the
U.S., but has also been thriving for four
years in Europe. The reason behind this
growing crowd of devotees lies in the
simplicity of the Box Rule. For years
sailors and designers had been clamor-
ing for races like in motorsport, where
the first to reach the finish line is the
winner, and does not need to wait for
hours until all the competitors have ar-
rived, to then be compared and classi-
fied according to complicated formulas.
With basic costs of around 600,000
euros and at just under 16 meters long,
the boats are comparatively affordable,
even though they look like futuristic
hi-tech racing yachts. As in the world
of motorsport, they offer technology
companies the chance to test out new
products and equipment arrangements.
Hulls, masts, wheels and tillers of TP52
yachts are made from carbon fiber, for
example. The sails are “baked” from
ultra-light fibers. A single spinnaker is
just under 300 square meters in size.
The budget can increase depending on
taste and policy in crew selection. Some
yachts are crewed by their owners, oth-
ers by professional-only teams.
Tim Kröger, Cup sailor Matti Paschen
from Hamburg, Ocean Race winner
Tony Kolb and also Cup navigator Marc
Lagesse from South Africa.
Out of the 14 to 15 man crew, with
a maximum crew weight of 1,273 kg,
more than half will be German. Just a
few years ago, that would have been
unimaginable in international profes-
sional sailing. •
SPORT&ATHLETES
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WELCOME ON BOARD
You can find out what sail trimmers
and grinders do at:
www.audi.com/ar2007/medcup.
Little wonder then that the class has
been making big waves even in Ger-
many’s “Big Boat” community, which
had been rather becalmed in recent
years. Harm Müller-Spreer, already a
three-time winner of the Gold Cup in
the elegant Dragon class, formerly an
Olympic sport, decided to field a team
in the TP52 class two years ago, a com-
mitment that he is now expanding. “I’ve
entered or even won every regatta in a
three-man keeler. So I was looking for a
new challenge,” explains this Hamburg
businessman. The racy TP52s, which
according to Jochen Schümann look
almost like the little sisters of the new
America’s Cup 90 class (AC90), arrived
just in time. Watching 20 or 25 of these
yachts take off or round a mark almost
simultaneously is a spectacular sight
that sends adrenaline into the veins of
even experienced pros.
But Harm Müller-Spreer knew from
the outset that success in this heavily
contested category could only be
achieved through serious commitment.
He and his “Platoon” edged towards
peak performance during the first two
years, making astute gradual additions
to the crew. His boat was designed by
none other than Dutchman Rolf Vrolijk,
who has long enjoyed cult status on the
yachting scene.
Müller-Spreer always knew that he
would have to hire more professionals if
he then wanted to catch up with the top
teams, as he had done in the Dragon
class over the past ten years. “I’m still
not expecting a victory this year, but we
want to sail good races,” was his aspira-
tion at the start of the 2007 season.
However, his expectations for the start
of the 2008 season have now risen.
Jochen Schümann, the most successful
sailor ever to come from Germany, is
going to skipper the boat on a regular
basis. There are also other experienced
pros in the race, such as circumnaviga-
tor and two-time America’s Cup entrant
May 12–17:
Alicante (Spain)
June 2–7:
Marseille (France)
June 30 – July 5:
Cagliari (Sardinia)
July 21–26:
Puerto Portals (Mallorca)
July 28 – August 3:
Copa del Rey* (Mallorca)
August 25–30:
Coruña (Spain)
September 15–20:
Portimão (Portugal)
* The classic Copa del Rey is not classed as
part of the Audi MedCup, but is viewed as
the highlight of the Mediterranean yachting
calendar. It regularly draws the best TP52
crews to Mallorca.
REGATTA CALENDAR
AUDI MEDCUP 2008
“After the America’s Cup, the TP series
is the toughest sailing event.”
Jochen Schümann, two-time America’s Cup champion
Above left
A Mediterranean spectacle:
Competitions in the TP52 class follow
attractively simple rules.
Below left
Top-class crew: “Platoon” will
have Jochen Schümann on board.