Amaury Berger and his Team 51 had a solid event in the first stop of the European Match Race Tour in Antibes earlier in February.
After an exciting performance, the local team from Antibes, managed to exceed all expectations and finished in a strong second place in Antibes. Currently lying on the 56th place in the match race ranking, Amaury Berger and his team are looking forward for the upcoming events this year.
EMRT interviewed the skipper after the event.
Q: How was the event in Antibes, the first stop of the EMRT?
A: The event was great. This event is special for me because we are the local team and we are “at home”. We know the boats very well and the wind conditions, but there is a bit of pressure on all of us as well. We are playing in our race course, so we have no excuse for not performing well. This time we had an excellent result finishing in second place.
Antibes is one of the best place to sail. You can be racing in your shorts and T-shirts in February and see the mountains with snow at the same time.
Q: When and how did you get to the Match Race?
A: I used to sail in the ILCA class before, and match racing was the best way for me to discover teamwork. Also, at this time I was a student and match racing was easier for me from an organisational point of view, as it is less time consuming.
In match racing, we don’t need to travel all around places with our boat. We only need to have a motivated team, and we have a very motivated one.
Finally, there is a great match racing activity in my region, so it was natural for me to get involved with match racing after the ILCA class.
Q: Do you also sail on other boats? Are you only focused in match racing events or also in other disciplines?
A: As a team, we are very focused and concentrated in match racing. We enjoy the discipline and all the excitement. Occasionally, I sail on TP52 for the IRC championship in France.
Q: Are you planning to participate in other EMRT events in 2023?
A: We are planning to participate in more match racing events this year. There is another event in France in July and we are looking for 1 or 2 events in another country this year.
We know that the final of the EMRT this year is in Italy and we are looking forward to qualify for that event. Maybe this means that we need to participate in more EMRT events. We will have a look at the calendar!!!
Q: How to have better match racing events and, specifically, EMRT events?
A: On an organizational point of view, there is nothing to say. EMRT is organising a lot of events every year.
Umpires are always open for discussion and help improve your knowledge. I think the organizers are doing their best to make these events always better.
However, even though match racing is very exciting, sometimes the events are not well-attended. I really don’t know how to make the series more attractive against the others . Maybe we should try to communicate more about our events and the possibility to participate. Match racing is unique, once you have tried it you will love it!!
Amaury Berger and his Team 51