FORMULA WINDSURFING GRAND PRIX, PORTIMAO – DAY 4

Steve Allen confirms his triumph at the Formula Windsurfing Grand Prix
Portimao 2007

+++ Portimao / Kiel, May 4th 2007.

The fourth day was the day of the first decisions at the Formula Windsurfing
Grand Prix Portimao. And the conditions couldn¹t have been better! 12 to 22
knots of side-offshore wind flattened the sea in the bay of Alvor and
provided perfect racing conditions for the formula racers. Another three
races were run so that  the local organizer ³Clube Overpower² and the town
hall of Portimao can proudly present a total of not less then 13 races in 4
days. Today the three races brought three different winners.

The first race of the day seemed to be a replay of yesterday. Gonzalo Costa
Hoevel (ARG-3, F2, Neil Pryde) presented a perfect performance and dominated
in front of his biggest opponent the Formula Windsurfing World Champion
Steve Allen (AUS-0, Tabou, Gaastra) from Australia. The Brasil hotshot Fabio
Melo (BRA-74, Starboard, Gaastra) confirmed his ambitions for the podium
with third place. Janis Preiss (LAT-23, F2, North Sails) from Latvia scored
his best result in the regatta and achieved an excellent fourth place in
front of the Italian youngster Alberto Menegatti (ITA-456, F2, North Sails).

But in the next race Steve Allen was again able to strike back. This time he
had Fabio Melo and Alberto Menegatti on his heals. The Dutch Youngster
Dennis Little (NED-13, F2, Maui Sails) finally found his form and scored a
fourth leaving only the fifth place for Gonzalo Costa Hoevel from Argentina.

In the final race of the day Dennis Little was able to improve his
performance even further and scored his first victory in the regatta. Steve
Allen underlined his outstanding performance with a second place while Fabio
Mela scored another third. Wilhelm Schurmann (BRA-999, Starboard, Neil
Pryde), the second strong racer from Brasil confirmed the excellent level of
Formula Racing in South America with a strong fourth place in front of
Hubert Mokrzycki (POL-25, Starboard, Gaastra) from Poland.

One day before the final day and with 13 of 15 races sailed the first
decisions took place at the Formula Windsurfing Grand Prix Portimao: With
the second place in the final race of the day Steve Allen confirmed his
overall victory in the event. Even if he would not compete in any of the
races tomorrow none of the other racers will be able to beat him in the
result list. Gonzalo Costa Hoevel has to be careful in the final races
tomorrow: As he has already two bad discards due to equipment failure he can
only afford one more mistake. Otherwise he might drop down far in the
rankings. But if he finishes in the way he did before, he should have a good
chance to maintain his second place. Fabio Mela cannot drop below his third
place but he will raise the pressure on Gonzalo Costa Hoevel to provoke
mistakes to take the second place. Alberto Menegatti are currently fighting
for the fourth place with the option to move up to a podium finish if
Gonzalo Costa Hoevel runs into trouble. So they will also raise the pressure
on the Argentinean which will make him the ³rabbit² on the final day.

For the final day tomorrow a maximum of two races is possible. According to
the forecasts we can await lighter wind again. The Skippers Meeting is set
for 10:00 with the first possible start at 11:00. The last possible start is
16:00 and the prize giving will take place at 18:00.

 
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The official website of the series with more information is
www.euro-cup.org. The events are also covered on www.formulawindsurfing.org
and www.internationalwindsurfing.com. Besides the reports and the results
you will also find a live ticker on www.euro-cup.org.