Dutch skipper Fred Imhoff took the overall lead of the Setanta Dragon European Championship on Friday after an impressive performance in race five of the series in Kinsale, County Cork. The new leader commanded the 50-boat fleet from the outset and won by three minutes from Denmark's Frank Berg.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark dropped from the overall lead to fourth, due to a combination of an eighth place today and the single discard coming into force. Places one to four are separated by ten points and a show-down finale is on the cards.
Double Olympic Gold medalist Poul Richard Hoj-Jensen was unable to repeat yesterday's performance when a sixth place leaves him stuck in fifth place and facing a tough challenge to break into the top three finishers.
A bottom third result for France's Louis Urvois places him seventh overall and effectively out of contention in spite of earlier promising results.
Five Irish boats featured in the top 15 finishers, with Cork's Neil Hegarty overtaking Andrew Craig in tenth and eleventh places respectively.
Filed by James Boylan.
