+++ Ialisos/Rhodes 15/06/02. Finale Furioso at the FormulaWindsurfing Grand Prix
in Ialisos/Rhodes (Greece)! Also on the last day the Greek island provided again
perfect FormulaWindsurfing conditions for the best windsurfers of the World. Two
final races were sailed today in wind speeds of 15 to 19 knots. Like all the days
before the wind was blowing perfectly sideshore which enabled the race director
Bruno de Wannemaker to set up a course directly at the beach. So the thousands
of spectators and the media representatives could easily follow the competitions.
Before the finish the racers had to follow a short slalom course with gates and
the finish line directly at the beach.

Antoine Albeau (F-192, AHD, Neil Pryde) won the first race today and confirmed
his victory at the FormulaWindsurfing Grand Prix already one race before the end
of the event. Wojtek Brzozowski (POL-10, Starboard, Neil Pryde) had the same points
as Steve Allen (AUS-0, Fanatic) after race#13 yesterday. Now he got second in
this race and was able to move away from Steve and fixed his second place in this
event. Steve Allen was unlucky as his equipment broke and he wasn’t able to complete
the race. Brian Rögild (DEN-173, Starboard, Gaastra) was third and passed
Arnon Dagan (ISR-1, Fanatic, Neil Pryde) from Israel. But both were still so close
together that the decision for place 4 was postponed for the final race.

The the next and final race of the event was a final triumph for Wojtek Brzozowski
(POL-10, Starboard, Neil Pryde). He dominated this race with a lead of over 500
metres in front of Steve Allen (AUS-0, Fanatic). Aleks Grynis (POL-86, Starboard,
Neil Pryde) came back strong after a disappointing day yesterday and got third
in the final race. Arnon Dagan (ISR-1, Fanatic, Neil Pryde) managed to beat Brian
Rögild (DEN-173, Starboard, Gaastra) his opponent for the fourth place in
the event but to catch him he had to finish at least three places ahead of Brian.
The German FW Champion Helge Wilkens (G-63, AHD, Gaastra) had his best day at
the event and scored a 7th and a 5th place.

After 15 races with 4 discards Antoine Albeau (F-192, AHD, Neil Pryde) won
in the first FormulaWindsurfing Grand Prix. He has won eight out of the 15 races
and dominated the event with a total of 14,6 points confirming his victory already
one race before the end of the event. Wojtek Brzozowski (POL-10, Starboard,
Neil Pryde) got second with 4 victories and 19,8 points. He had a great finish
and won three out of the last four races. Steve Allen (AUS-0, Fanatic) from
Australia presented a strong performance over the whole event and won three
races but was a little bit unlucky in the end when his equipment broke in race#14
which made it impossible for him to react on Wojteks attack. So the Australian
got 3rd with 24,1 points. Only this three competitors have been able to win
races in the FormulaWindsurfing Grand Prix Rhodes.

But the competition was exciting until the end as many competitors were still
fighting for positions. The most spectacular fight took place between Brian
Rögild (DEN-173, Starboard, Gaastra) and Arnon Dagan (ISR-1, Fanatic, Neil
Pryde) with the better outcome for Brian who got 4th (57 points) with Arnon
on his heals (59 points)

The best Greeks had an head to head fight with Zois Theocharis (GRE-100) on
place 20 followed by Ioanis-Markos Fantis (GRE-7) on his heals. The third Greece
is John Papaspirou (GRE-71).

The FormulaWindsurfing Grand Prix in Ialisos / Rhodes was one of the best Racing
events ever. 15 races were sailed in perfect FW conditions with very variable
wind speeds from light wind races at the minimum of 7 knots to high wind competitions
in almost 30 knots. Greece presented itself as a perfect base for Formula and
the Greek people were fabulous hosts for the competitors who arrived from all
over the World. The organizer Achilleas E. Tzimas and the Rhodes Windsurfing
Academy are thanking the competitors, the race organization and all the partners
who helped to realize this event. Everybody is already looking forward to the
next year when the best windsurfers will return again for the FormulaWindsurfing
Grand Prix.

The next event in the Aegean Sea will be the Aegeanregatta (www.aegeanregatta.gr)
which is an international offshore sailing and culture week.