News

February 22, 2008

Mean Machine prepares for some hot racing at the 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix

The next Farr 40 date has been circled with a red marker pen on the Mean Machine calendar for a while now. March 6th is the battle-date for the next fleet face-off, and the battlefield is the familiar South Beach area of Miami, USA.

Launched last autumn, Mean Machine 21 is eager to show the rest of the fleet what she’s capable of. According to the race organisers it’s looking like there will be around 30 boats lining up against each other for the 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix, with the promise of some fierce world class competition.

Mean Machine have already logged some great performances in this highly competitive class, but this time around the crew are looking to achieve that all-important consistency needed to hit the top steps on the podium. Third and sixth place finishes in the Farr 40 10th Anniversary Regatta and Acura Key West 2008 respectively show Mean Machine well deserves a top spot in the class, but all that’s needed is a final push to keeping those results steady. Mean Machine is currently lying sixth in the world rankings for the class.



This isn’t about Mean Machine simply showing the world what she can do: the Acura Grand Prix is an impressive addition to any sailor’s CV, and this is another important step towards the Rolex World Championships in April. There’s also the Acura Grand Prix combined trophy for the boat with the best combined performance at Key West and the GP, which Peter and co. took last year in the Mumm 30 class. The four-day event will include 10 windward-leeward races.

It’s going to be another veritable ‘clash of Titans’ with a star-studded line-up and racers from Volvo, America’s Cup and TP 52 campaigns, such as Paul Cayard, Dean Barker, Terry Hutchinson or Bouwe Bekking.

Competition is going to be hot and Mean Machine is warming up for it right now.

Current Overall Rankings for the class:

Farr 40
1. Barking Mad, Jim Richardson – 29 points
2. Mascalzone Latino, Vincenzo Onorato – 29 points
3. Twins, Erik Maris – 37 points
4. Nerone, Massimo Mezzaroma – 42 points
5. Mean Machine, Peter de Ridder – 61 points
6. Warpath-MedImpact, Fred & Steve Howe – 61 points