1998 Newport-Manhattan Series
Kostecki, illbruck-PINTA Win Newport-Manhattan Series Regatta in 1D48 Racing Debut
NEW YORK, New York (June 3, 1998) — AmericaOne tactician John Kostecki skippered the One Design 48 illbruck-PINTA to victory in the ten-race Newport-Manhattan Series today, after winning six of the races sailed over the past six days. Kostecki and his international crew had won the series with a race in hand, but started in the last race of the day to score another first.
The seven boats in the big-boat One Design class sailed three races today in
New York Harbor, off the World Trade Center, in gusty northwesterly winds
that at times reached 30 knots. Two boats were damaged and were forced to
withdraw. A third blew out a spinnaker. One Design LLC president John
Bertrand later described the tough, close-quarters racing on the waterfront of
New York's financial district as "a mixed day on Wall Street!"
Aboard illbruck-PINTA, Kostecki called tactics for helmsman Morgan Larson
as their boat scored a second, a third and a first on the final day of
racing. Their winning low-point score of 18.5 was 9.5 points better than Jim
Andrew's Abracadabra skippered and steered by America's Cup challenger John
Kolius. Abracadabra, the red-hulled boat from Birmingham, Alabama, is the
reigning class champion and the leader in this year's points standings.
The illbruck-PINTA campaign is the first entry in the Volvo Ocean Race
around the world (formerly the Whitbread Race), three and a half years from
now. The One Design 48 yacht is the training yacht for the corporate campaign
initiated by the illbruck group of companies, headquartered in Leverkusen,
Germany. The campaign will later commission at least two Volvo Ocean 60 race
boats.
illbruck Group president Michael Illbruck, who sailed with the crew today in
all three races, described the outcome as "an excellent result from a very
professional crew." He added: "John Kostecki has found the right chemistry
for our international crew. That's more important than results. With the
right chemistry, results will always follow."
Kostecki said: "Most of our crew have sailed together at some time and some
of them for years, but this is the first time we've all sailed together on
this boat. The team gelled well and that's significant in the light of our
Volvo Ocean Race challenge.
Abracadabra won the first race of the day after a starting line jam caused
when Dawn Riley's America True caught and towed the pin end marker. Gene
Mondry's Leading Edge was winning the second race when she broke the lower
spreaders on her mast and had to withdraw.
America True pulled out after
breaking her gooseneck fitting. Dick and Doug DeVos's Windquest won the
incident-packed race. In the third race, only five boats started. Jim Dolan's
Sagamore led the first lap before illbruck-PINTA overhauled her and won.
Final Results:
1. illbruck-PINTA 1-1-1-3-4-1-1.5-2-3-1 18.5 points
2. Abracadabra 2-3-4-1-2-2-6.0-1-4-3 28.0
3. Sagamore 3-5-2-2-7-6-3.0-6-2-2 38.0
4. Windquest 5-2-5-4-1-5-9.0-4-1-4 40.0
5. Starlight 4-4-3-5-3-3-7.5-3-5-5 42.5
6. America True 7-7-7-6-6-4-4.5-5-8-9 64.5
7. Leading Edge 6-6-6-7-5-7-10.5-7-8-8 74.5
Read the earlier story, Kostecki, illbruck-PINTA Win Around-the-Island Race and Build Three-Point Series Lead
