News

16/06/05
Act 4 - Day 1 - Pre-race chatter

Jordi Calafat, Alinghi Strategist

So Jordi, today Alinghi is racing China Team (ex-Le Defi, with a lot of America’s Cup veterans on board) and newcomer to the Cup Team Shosholoza, what are your expectations?
“Well, normally it should be a good day for us, as you say, they are new to the game and we have been training here for a few months now. We can always have surprises though and today there will be light winds so it could be a little bit tricky out there, but I hope that we come back with two victories today. Racing Shosholoza will be interesting, they are the only team with a new boat and they are well prepared as far as crew preparation and boat handling, but they have a new mast and they might have some problems with that. We will see – the biggest problem will be the light winds, if we make no big mistakes, it should be a good one for us”.

Are you nervous before this first race?
“You’re always a bit nervous, whether it is the first day or not, but it should be good. If you like competition and you like the sport, once you’re racing everything is easier”.