THA72 Leads On First Day Of 2017 Malaysia's Royal Langkawi International Regatta

LANGKAWI (Kedah, Malaysia), Jan 11 (Bernama) -- THA72 of Thailand put up a strong showing on the first day of the 2017 Royal Langkawi International Regatta (RLIR) to lead the Racing Class after two races on Tuesday. The team helmed by Don Whitcraft finished second in the first race. They fought back to beat nearest rivals Emagine of Australia to win the second race. The win allows THA72 to collect three three penalty points, to lead four other teams competing for the Prime Minister's Challenge Trophy. Emagine helmsman Scott Bradley said several mistakes by the technical team in the second race lede to the four penalty points. "Despite being one point behind (THA72), I'm still satisfied. Slow winds of two to seven knots provide some challenges. We will improve in the next race", he said after finishing the first day of competition. Meanwhile, defending champions, Oi! of Australia only managed fourth place behind Black Bazza of Hong Kong who finished in third place. Sole Malaysian representative, Uranus skippered by Hairolnizam Hat found the competition too hot, and finished last with nine penalty points. Racing Class is a major category in the eight categories in the 15th RLIR which attracted the participation of 30 teams. --BERNAMA