El Puerto Calero leads again in the Audi MedCup 2010

Cascais (Portugal).- The Puerto Calero, owned by José Antonio Calero from Lanzarote and skippered by José María Ponce, has been proclaimed champion of the Portugal Trophy, the first event of the Audi MedCup Circuit, in the GP42' Series, which concluded today in the waters of Cascais (Portugal). Second place went to Caser Seguros, owned by Javier Goizueta and José María van der Ploeg, and third to Iberdrola, owned by Laureano Wizner.

The Canary Islands boat, which arrived on the final day with a six-point lead over Madrid Caser Seguros, skippered by Paolo Cian, perfectly maintained this advantage and achieved a first and a second place, confirming them as champions after winning the first of the two races. This allowed them to sail more calmly in the last leg, knowing they were the winners. Even so, they gave their all to try to score the fewest points possible in order to compete for the Audi MedCup Circuit.

Puerto Calero's championship has been very positive, as they have achieved five first places, three second places, and one third place out of the nine races held, allowing them to also lead the Audi MedCup 2010 Circuit, the same one they won in 2009, which also began with a win in Alicante.

In the first race of the final day, the crew of Puerto Calero was determined to seek victory to secure the championship, and they achieved it from the very start, leading the fleet at all times until finishing first. Madrid Caser also needed a good result, especially to confirm their second position in the Portugal Trophy and the Audi MedCup; they were second, and Iberdrola was third.

In the second race of the day, Puerto Calero saw their start blocked by Airis, which made a turn immediately after starting, forcing the Canary Islanders to also turn, giving them right of way to avoid colliding with the Italian boat. This meant they started the leg in fourth position. Caser Madrid took the lead after a good start, a position they did not relinquish until winning the race. Puerto Calero recovered positions as the race progressed, and after a tough battle with Airis and Iberdrola, they managed to climb two places and finish second, while Iberdrola finished third. Peninsula Petroleum was unable to start on this final day as the masthead broke before the race.

The Project Manager of Puerto Calero, Daniel Calero, commented at the end of the Portugal Trophy that "The first thing I want to do is congratulate the crew on behalf of the family, as they have been close to perfection this week, and the truth is that it hasn't been easy." Calero is very happy with "the human group that makes up Puerto Calero; they have made an enormous effort to be here, and the result shows how great they are. We arrived at this regatta in very complicated conditions for everyone, and the team has risen to the challenges, which have been many." Puerto Calero arrived in Cascais at the last minute; "we are working to find a sponsor, and hopefully, we can present it to be in Marseille with the greatest guarantees and try to remain as competitive as we have been so far. What we are very clear about is that Puerto Calero will continue to be there, and the idea is to finish the Audi MedCup Circuit."

FINAL CLASSIFICATION

GP42'

1 Puerto Calero, José María Ponce, 1-1-2-1-2-3-1-1-2, 14 points

2 Madrid Caser, Paolo Cian, 3-2-3-2-1-4-2-2-1, 20 points

3 Iberdrola, Laureano Wizner, 2-5-1-3-3-1-5-3-3, 26 points

4 Airis, Roberto Monti, 5-4-5-4-DNF-2-4-4-4, 38 points

5 Peninsula Petroleum, John Bassadone, 4-3-4-5-4-5-3-DNF-DNC, 40 points