MEAN MACHINE VALLE ROMANO FINISHES SECOND IN THE ALICANTE TROPHY
Peter de Ridder’s boys show they’ve got the desire and the ability to defend their double Medcup 2006 crown. The Rudel/Vroljik TP52, instantly recognizable by the pink flames rising from the bow of her black hull, has shown that being a 2006 model isn’t going to hold her back in this competition by finishing first in the Corinthian category and in second place in the overall rankings, behind José Cusí’s Bribón.

The first of the five Breitling Medcup 2007 events draws to a close with competition as hot and as close as ever. It’s evident that those top positions are going to be even more difficult to reach this Circuit with 23 boats and the cream of world sailing all battling for a piece of Medcup success.

Mean Machine Valle Romano made it to the last day of the Alicante Trophy holding second place, having taken full advantage of the double points at stake, with two firsts in the offshore race. Despite the Regatta Committee’s best efforts to get racing underway this Sunday, the light and unstable winds prevented the mighty fleet from showing Alicante what they’ve got, just one last time.

After two attempts to officially start the regatta, both in vain, as a huge part of the TP52 fleet made false starts with a general recall, the Regatta Committee took the decision to suspend any racing activity due to the low and decreasing breeze conditions.The rankings for this first Medcup Circuit event see José Cusí’s brand new Bribón take the lead, followed by Peter de Ridder’s Mean Machine – Valle Romano, and Vasco Vascotto’s Mutua Madrileña in third place. 

Peter de Ridder, alma mater of the Mean Machine family and Skipper on the TP52 Mean Machine Valle Romano, was pleased with the team’s performance:  
“I think we’ve had a good start to the season, much like last year, but with fewer points between ourselves and the leaders. This year is a very closely fought battle, as you can see from the rankings, and rather than just boiling down to speed, the key in these races is going to be tactics and good sail programmes. This event has confirmed in my mind that we can be up there at the front of the fleet, even with all the new models out there.”
 
5 days of racing, 3 windward-leeward races, 2 offshore legs and a Mean Machine team, led by Peter de Ridder and sponsored by the Costa del Sol’s prestigious Golf & Resort, Valle Romano, that has shown what really counts in the Medcup – consistency. Results like this: 16,7,1,10,7,1,1 have taken them to the second step on the podium of this Alicante Trophy, the first event of the Medcup Circuit 2007.This TP52’s successful performance can be attributed to many different factors. On one hand Peter de Ridder has a valuable and highly ‘in tune’ crew to count on. No Ray Davies, Joe Allen, Jono Macbeth or Stu Bettany, hasn’t stopped them from maintaining the level of sailing they’re famous for.
 
That’s because Mean Machine has a valuable human resource in the sailing platform that makes up the Mean Machine team, bringing Cameron Appleton onboard as Tactician, as well as round-the-world sailors such as Simeon Tienpont and Justin Clougher, among others.

Cameron Appleton, Tactician on Mean Machine – Valle Romano for this regatta commented: “This has been my first time sailing with Mean Machine, and it’s been a real honour. Quite frankly, it’s a very well organized team, and it’s a lot of fun to sail with these guys. I think that to win these complicated TP52 regattas, the key lies in consistency; you have to make as few mistakes as possible, and do a good clean start to get some good wind behind you.”

On the other hand, they know preparation goes hand in hand with consistency when it comes to Medcup success. Important research and development was undertaken during the winter months to advance the team’s sail programme. The tests and research done at North sails Denmark and North Sails New Zealand by Jono Swain, Liam Newman and Jon Gundersen have given Mean Machine Valle Romano that extra edge in terms of speed.Jon Gundersen: “We’re really pleased with the performance of the Code Zero we have used yesterday, which is almost brand new. Despite not being designed specifically for the range of conditions we’ve had in the second half of this event, it’s responded really well.

The same can be said for our genoas and mainsail, which are a more evolved version of what we had last year. The Spinnakers, designed by North Sails New Zealand have shown some great potential…they’re very fast.”
And of course, the performance of the shore team, captained by Chris ‘Reido’ Reid and Dean Moaney has been an invaluable part of the team’s great Alicante run. Overall Results. Trofeo Alicante -Boat, skipper, R1,R2,R3, R4, R5, R6, R7. TOTAL
 
1. Bribón. Bouwe Bekking. 6, 2, 14, 5, 4, 2, 2 .35 PTS2. MEAN MACHINE VALLE ROMANO. Peter de Ridder 16, 7, 1, 10, 7, 1, 1. 43 PTS3.  Mutua Madrileña. Vasco Vascotto.8, 9, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3. 44 PTS4. Artemis. Russell Coutts. 11, 1, 3, 1, 24DSQ, 7, 7. 54 PTS5.Caixa Galicia. Roberto Bermudez. 3, 4, 11, 8, 3,16, 13. 58 PTS 6. Patches. Ian Walker.  5, 5, 2, 18, 12,10, 6. 58 PTS  OVERALL RESULT BREITLING MEDCUP1. Bribón. Bouwe Bekking. 6, 2, 14, 5, 4, 2, 2 .35 PTS2. MEAN MACHINE VALLE ROMANO. Peter de Ridder 16, 7, 1, 10, 7, 1, 1. 43 PTS3.  Mutua Madrileña. Vasco Vascotto.8, 9, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3. 44 PTS4. Artemis. Russell Coutts. 11, 1, 3, 1, 24DSQ, 7, 7. 54 PTS5. Caixa Galicia. Roberto Bermudez. 3, 4, 11, 8, 3,16, 13. 58 PTS 6.Patches. Ian Walker.  5, 5, 2, 18, 12,10, 6. 58 PTS

Mean Machine – Valle Romano Crew List – Alicante Trophy
Peter de Ridder
Tom Dodson
Cameron Appleton
Jules Salter Navigator 
Dirk de Ridder Jonathan Swain    
Jon Gundersen
Liam Newman
Simeon Tienpont
Geert v.d. Heijden
Jeff Reynolds Ed van Lierde
Chris Reid
Sander v.d. Borch
Justin Clougher
Sarah OKane
Dean Moaney –Shore CrewFor more info about Mean Machine contact to: Helena de la Gándara.