AEZ sails onto the podium thanks to a second win: JUMPING FOR JOY The AEZ RC44 Sailing Team records a second win of the day and ends the home games in Gmunden in third place. With that Rene Mangold and Co. celebrate their greatest success of the Championship Tour.

The ambitious AEZ Team set their sights on a place in the first half of this high quality competition. They meticulously prepared for this third tour stop, a home race in Gmunden, and brought on board the AC Champion of 2007 Yann Gouinot (FRA). At the end of the day, the AEZ Team sailed into 3rd Place, making the two superstars Brad Butterworth (NZL/Katusha) and Ed Baird (Syngery) look old. Today was the final day of the Fleet Race Series. From the home view standpoint it all looked very promising, and then the AEZ Sailors ended the day sensationally with a second win. For the first time, the home syndicate finally managed to jump onto the podium. The overall victory went to Artemis Racing  (SWE), who won four races, and second place went to Ceeref  (SLO). Helmsman Rene Mangold alongside the two extraordinary tacticians Markus Wieser (GER) and Christian Binder brought AEZ into 3rd Place, narrowly missing second by only a point, making this their best result within the Championship Tour. Aside from the home trio (Rene Mangold, Christian Binder and Gerd Habermüller) and Gouinot, who was responsible for the mainsail trim, the German sailing genius Markus Wieser is attributed to being the leader of this team's positive momentum. The AEZ Team now sails ahead into fifth place in the Championship Ranking. The tour will be continued in Marstrand (SWE) on July 18, and will be finalized in the beginning of October with the Championship in Rovinj (CRO).

Voices / Rene Mangold: "During the whole week we felt really good and kept our cool, not letting ourselves get all rallied up. Neither the very difficult conditions nor the very high expectations made us nervous. Today's win has rounded it all up perfectly, and it's such an enormous relief to show such a convincing effort in front of the home crowd. I'm incredibly proud of the team, who outdid itself in all categories." Voices / Markus Wieser: "Due to the changing conditions, a good eye and extreme flexibility in the tactical area were necessary. We didn't manage everything perfectly, but with the exception of Artemis, who really put out a great series, nobody has. Christian Binder's new sails and the perfectly fine-tuned material gave us an additional plus, and every single one of us has brought everything to the table for this great success. Now it's important to take this momentum into the next practice and continue to stay on the ball. We are hungrier than ever and are looking forward to the next match in Sweden." RC44 Austria Cup, Fleet Race/Final Standings after 8 Races: 1. Artemis Racing (SWE) 33 2. Ceeref (SLO) 42 3. AEZ RC44 Sailing Team 43 4. Aqua (GBR) 44 5. Katusha (RUS) 47 Intermediate Standings RC44 Championship-Tour 2012 (from 3 of 5 Events): 1. Aqua (GBR) 8 2. Artemis Racing (SWE) 10 3. Ceeref (SLO) 14 4. Katusha (RUS) 16 5. AEZ RC44 Sailing Team 17 Link: www.rc44.at  www.rc44.com

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