Swedes pick second boat for next stage of racing

By JULIE ASH

Sweden's Victory Challenge could be the only syndicate to change yachts for the second round of the Louis Vuitton challenger series.

The Swedes announced yesterday that they would use their second yacht SWE73 (Orm) for the round which starts on Wednesday.

Sweden used their first yacht SWE63 (Orn) to finish seventh in round one with three wins and five losses.

Victory Challenge spokesman Bert Willborg said the decision to change yachts was made after several days of racing SWE63 against SWE73 during the week-long break between rounds.

The team docked out just after 7am yesterday for the final day of testing.

"We have known for a long time that Orm is faster, but we wanted to make sure she could handle the Hauraki Gulf and it was essential to do a thorough test," Willborg said.

"As there have been limited opportunities to test her we wanted to wait to use her until the second round."

SWE63 was one of the first 2003 generation yachts to arrive in Auckland.

It was launched in Sweden last October and shipped to Auckland in November with Alinghi's SUI64.

The Victory boats are designed by Mani Frers, who was part of Prada's design team in the last cup.

SWE63 has impressed with its speed, but it seems likely SWE73 will go even faster.

Last night Victory Challenge were the only team to confirm a change of yachts.

Team Dennis Conner have spent the break testing USA77, which sank off Long Island in July, against USA66, the boat they used in the first round. Whether they will change will depend on how confident they are with USA77 and its newly fitted bow.

Prada have to stick with ITA74 because their second yacht, ITA80, is undergoing hull modifications.

The hull of ITA74 has also been redeveloped and the yacht is now sporting a knuckle bow similar to that of most of the other challengers and Team New Zealand's NZL60.

Alinghi confirmed at the end of the last round they would stick with SUI64, stating their second yacht SUI75 had undergone some changes.

Oracle BMW Racing are believed to have made changes to USA76, the yacht they used in the first round, which indicates they will stick with it for round two. OneWorld were likely to stay with USA67.

GBR Challenge would not confirm if they were switching from GBR70 to GBR78, while Le Defi Areva and Mascalzone Latino (the only one-boat campaign) will stay with FRA69 and ITA72 - which both needed repairs after suffering damage in the last day of the first round.

The remaining first-round race, between Prada and Mascalzone Latino, is scheduled for tomorrow.

The first flight of round robin two pits OneWorld against Mascalzone Latino, Oracle BMW Racing against Prada, Team Dennis Conner against GBR Challenge and Le Defi Areva against Alinghi. Victory Challenge have the bye.