A freeze on the TP52 rule and dates announced

With four successful regattas sailed and two left to sail in the 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit,already eyes and thoughts are on the the 2009 season with many current teams and interested newcomers beginning to firm up their future plans. The Event Organisers and the TP52 Class Association have today jointly announced the regatta schedule for 2009 and a series of changes for the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit.

Following a series of the meetings of the owners of the TP52 Class a decision has been made to freeze the class rule for two years. This significant step allows current owners and teams planning to build new for next year to have a clear view of the future as far as the investment value of their boats is concerned.

Several small “housekeeping” rule modifications will be made to the current rule to help contain costs and save time with topics such as no more inclining tests but keel and bulb weighing, adopting an ISO construction standard for hull laminate scantlings and plan approval, using a more logical set of metric dimension roundings and a separation of the internal headroom restrictions the class had adopted from the obsolete IMS Rule to something simpler and more relevant.

The fundamentals of the class rule and the type of boats it is likely to produce in the future are completely frozen for the next two seasons whilst the sailing world is put on notice of a total revamp and evolution of the TP52 Class which will manifest itself in a new rule book available in time for new boats to be built for the 2011 season. Work will be carried out over the next 12 months by the TP52 Class Technical Committee, comprised of the class measurers, technical director and the design groups currently active in the class, to propose a new rule to help keep the class at the forefront of coastal keelboat racing.

John Cook (GBR), owner of Cristabella and the Owners’ Association Chairman said:“These initiatives are really important for the longevity of the class in the context of the Audi MedCup Circuit and represent a fair balance between the needs of the owners of these magnificent yachts and the commercial needs of the event organisers.”

The Audi MedCup Circuit event organisers in association with the TP52 Class Owners’ Association have also proposed a series of cost containment initiatives. Chief amongst these are a reduction of the number of events that make up the circuit from six to five, a reduction in the permitted number of sails and their materials, and the introduction of a new Corinthian Class with a limited number of professionals allowed onboard.

The details of these three major cost containment initiatives are still to be finalised but are likely to specify a reduction in sails allowed to be used in competition from 26 new and three grandfathered (ie from the previous season) to 19 new and two grandfathered. Limitations on the permitted materials for sails will effectively outlaw expensive under-used sails made of Cuben Fibre and Spectra.

The Cornthian Class will be for ISAF Category 1 or 2 helmsman with maybe as many as half the crew with the same ISAF Categories. The Audi MedCup Corinthian prize will be awarded to the Corinthian Team with the best results from four of the five scheduled events for 2009, effectively allowing one event to be discarded, something that is not the case for the professional category.

Nacho Postigo, Audi MedCup Circuit Regatta Director commented:“We have listened very carefully to the owners, the sponsors, the crews, the fans, the media and the venues over quite some time and have come up initially with these adjustments for the next exciting Audi MedCup Season. We expect there to be some more new intiatives that we are still working on for the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit. With regard to the venues for next year, the Host Cities will be announced over the Autumn, but the intention is to run three regattas outside of Spain and two in Spain.”

The five regatta 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit will follow a similar format to the six regatta 2008 circuit. The provisional dates for the five events are as follows:

2009 Audi MedCup Circuit
Event 1 19th – 24th May
Event 2 16th – 21st June
Event 3 21st – 26th July
Event 4 18th – 23rd August
Event 5 15th – 20th September