Thursday, January 8, 2009

Ericsson 4 will not be penalised


Ericsson 4 skipper Torben Grael - Photo Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race

Ericsson 4 will not be penalised under the protest filed by the Rule Management Group against the team. The International Jury found the team wasnot obliged to inform the Measurers of changes made to the bow of its boat,and therefore the team had not broken a rule.

Ericsson Racing Team did not inform the measurers that they had replaced the sacrificial bow section and 'duplicated' the position of the measurement reference point with another screw head, something that may have affectedthe accuracy of the hull measurement data.

The Rule Management Group accepted that the new bow section was the same as the replaced section, and that the position of the measurement reference point was not an issue. -http://www. volvooceanrace.org