March 15, 2002
1 minute reading time
Estaugh and Potts Win Warm Up
The final race of the Fireball Pre-World regatta started after some delay whilst the fleet waited for the wind to come in.
The final race of the Fireball Pre-World regatta started after some delay whilst the fleet waited for the wind to come in.
The start got away first time and at the first mark the Japanese boat of Hiroshi Kato was in the lead with Richard Estaugh hot on his heels. Kato held his lead for the first lap but was overtaken on the next beat as the wind shifted right and Estaugh took full advantage. Philip Popple and Tim Rush also went hard right and made huge gains, ending up second and third. On the final run and reach of the trapezoid course little changed at the front of the fleet and Estaugh took the gun followed by Popple and Rush.
Estaugh’s win today gives him the overall win in the regatta, narrowly beating Tim Rush and Dave Wade who were second and third respectively. Racing has been tight all week with only 15 points (using bonus point scoring) separating the top eight boats. This should make for an interesting World Championships next week, as any of those could be in the running to take the title.
Final Results
| Position | Skipper | Crew | Nationality | Total Points | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | Race 5 | Race 6 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Richard Estaugh | Simon Potts | GBR | 33.7 | 16 | 1 | 1 | -45 | 6 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Tim Rush | Simon Hextall | GBR | 36.1 | -19 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | David Wade | Richard Wagstaff | GBR | 37 | 7 | 2 | -40 | 1 | 1 | 15 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Paul Cullen | Gavin Tilson | GBR | 44.7 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 | -11 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Erich Moser | Reudi Moser | SUI | 48.4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 9 | -13 | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Robin Inns | Mark Ingerson | AUS | 48.4 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 4 | -16 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Kevin Hope | Robert Gardner | GBR | 51 | -31 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 12 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Ian Pinnell | David Scott | GBR | 51.7 | 2 | -10 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 7 | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Angus Hemmings | Steve Chesney | GBR | 80 | 17 | 11 | 7 | -45 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Jenny Baines | Malcolm Green | FRA | 82 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 14 | -18 |