For a full graphic of the Cup see today's printed Herald SuperSport
KEY POINTS:
VICTORY CHALLENGE
Country: Sweden
Boats: SWE96, SWE73
Project initiator: Hugo Stenbeck
Skipper: Magnus Holmberg
Designer: Mani Frers
Estimated budget: $90 million
Boat colour: Black
Challenger ranking: 6
HISTORY
This is their second consecutive cup campaign and Sweden's fifth. As first-time competitors in Auckland in 2002-03, Victory punched above their weight before being eliminatedin the quarter-finals repechage. But the campaign was marred by the death of team founder and syndicate head Jan Stenbeck, days before the first race of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The 2007 team carries the benefits from that 2002/03 campaign but they have yet to live up to expectations. Last year they finished a disappointing sixth and seventh in the two match-racing regattas in their old boat. Designer Mani Frers jnr guarantees SWE96 is a "vast improvement".
CREW
The team is led by Sweden's Magnus Holmberg, who won the world match-racing tour in 2000-01. Among those joining him is round-the-world Briton Neal McDonald. The sailing team of 40 includes 12 Swedes and 19 Brits and several Kiwis, Americans and Australians.
STRENGTHS
Frers delivered the Swedes a good boat in the last cup. "This boat is rather powerful and very fast," Frers said at the boat's launch. "It will be easier to manoeuvre and faster to accelerate. It's a real match-racing boat. There is not one single thing that comes from the old generation boats. We took some calculated risks in developing the boat but we are pretty happy with the whole package."
PROSPECTS
Potential semifinalists. Victory Challenge showed plenty of promise in the last cup but have struggled to finance this campaign. If their new boat is competitive, they have the sailors to challenge Desafio Espanol and Mascalzone for fourth spot.
