A light, slow start to the first morning of the Audi MedCup Circuit’s Region of Murcia-Cartagena Trophy masks the tensions which are almost inevitably rising among the leading contenders.

Audi MedCup 2011 - Region of Murcia Trophy - Cartagena - Spain - Photo Guido Trombetta - Studio Borlegnhi Audi MedCup

This time least year there was one dominant team which were odds on for the title. This season, the stifling heat of  high summer Murcia and one of the circuit’s most difficult race tracks finds the top teams squeezed ever tighter since Cagliari in the 52 Series, even closer in boat speed and skill level.
Predicting a TP52 winner here would be a fool’s game.

Today sees the official practice race for the 52 Series. Already there has been a postponement ashore as there is so little wind, but the forecast shows a light, sub 10kts sea breeze for the afternoon which should be enough to get the two practice starts and the official practice away.

Víctor Mariño (ESP), Strategist, Container (GER):
“We´ve made some pretty big changes in our boat after racing in the Copa del Rey with medium wind conditions a few days ago. We made a few important decisions, had a chance to test those changes yesterday with other boats and had a good feedback. We´ve optimized our boat in order to sail in lighter conditions, so we can face this event in the best ideal shape Wind conditions here this week should be medium-light and with these changes we are in a better position to compete at our best potential with the rest of the fleet. We think that this is a very important event that could define who will be the podium teams in Barcelona. You can either stay in the fight or lose your chances, so we have to be calm, work hard and get the best possible result.”