MEDIA RELEASE 31 OCTOBER 2005

TOP TEAMS BATTLE IT OUT IN CHEVROLET HOBIE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

112 Teams from around the world are currently in action during the semi-final rounds of the Chevrolet Hobie Cat 16 World Championships being sailed in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth. The first day of the semi-finals welcomed the competitors with light breezes and flat seas, a welcome change from the stormy winds and roughs seas of the past couple of days.

42 Top international teams from Europe, North and South America, the Pacific and Africa have pre-qualified for the semi-finals of the world championships. After this weekend’s races in the qualifying rounds, a further 45 teams qualified for spots in the semi-finals. South Africa is at the top of the competitors list with 30 teams in the semi-finals, especially after South African competitors put up a show of strength during the four qualification races.

Capetonians Shaun Ferry and Michele le Sueur quickly put their stamp on the competition with a convincing win in the first race of the day. Puerto Ricans Enrique Figuero and Carla Malatrasi took the second race of the day to tie with the South Africans at the top of the leader board.

France, which is considered top contenders with twelve teams in the running, has proved their reputation with three teams amongst the top five. France already walked off with the youth and women’s world titles last week and did very well in the qualifiers over the weekend. The young Frenchmen Cedric Bader and Yann Montoya will definitely pose a strong challenge to the rest of the fleet. They put up a compelling performance to win the youth world title last week and are also the current European champions in both the youth and open classes.

The semi-finals are taking place from Monday, 31 October, to Wednesday, 2 November. The top 56 teams will advance to the final rounds, which will be sailed on Thursday and Friday to determine the winners of the Open division.

For updates and results, visit the official website on www.chevrolet.hobieworlds.co.za