[Source: Alpari World Match Racing Tour] With the sun getting low in the sky, at the end of play GAC Pindar skipper Ian Williams and his long term French rival Mathieu Richard of GEFCO Match Racing Team hold a 4-1 scoreline, along with Pierre Antoine Morvan’s Vannes Agglo Sailing Team. The three teams’ single losses were respectively to Adam Minoprio, Bjorn Hansen and Ian Williams.

“We were a little nervous because a lot of teams have sailed these boats before and we haven’t,” said Williams. “It is an unusual situation for us to be the less experienced team, but our upwind boat speed was really good.” The GAC Pindar crew narrowly won their match against Morvan after there was a big luff at the top mark and the Frenchman ended up picking up a penalty for going past head to wind.

US Virgin Islander Taylor Canfield and his USone team ended the day on three wins along with Keith Swinton’s Black Swan Racing, Bjorn Hansen’s Mekonomen Sailing Team and the Adam Minoprio-skippered Team Alpari FX.

Canfield won against Hansen, Robertson and Jablonski, but lost to Berntsson and Richard. “Light conditions in big heavy slow boats is always challenging and I don’t think we are totally comfortable with all of our manoeuvres and timing in these boats just yet,” admitted the 24-year-old. “As the day went on we started to figure it out a bit and got the boat going well.”

Adam Minoprio makes his comeback in the Alpari World Match Racing Tour. Langenargen, 16 May 2013. Photo copyright Brian Carlin / Alpari World Match Racing Tour

In Canfield’s match against Richard there was a long dial up and then, with 1 minute 30 to go, both boats were still a long way over the line but the Frenchman won the favoured committee boat end and it was game over from there.

USone had more success against Karol Jablonski when, after they had roundly dispatched the Polish former America’s Cup helmsman pushing him behind the committee boat, Jablonski retired, switched on his engine resulting in his receipt of a black flag from the umpires. Jablonski admitted that they had had a major communication breakdown on board. “We basically just retired and used the time to do a debrief. We are a new team and we don’t sail enough to get everything done the way I like to do it. When you do two events per year it is tough to compete with the best teams here.”

Adam Minoprio’s Team Alpari FX was initially docked a half point for a collision with Pierre Antoine Morvan during a tacking duel in Flight 2, when the stern quarters of the two teams’ boats touched as they attempted to separate. “In my mind it was a port-starboard and he didn’t start avoiding early enough and we had to avoid him and our sterns touched,” said Minoprio, providing his viewpoint of the incident. At the time the umpires took a different view and red flagged Team Alpari FX requiring them to carry out a penalty turn immediately, docking the Kiwi team the half point for causing damage. But at a hearing after racing neither Minoprio nor Morvan were found to have broken the avoiding contact rule (rule 14) and the half point penalty was removed from Minoprio’s scoreline.

First day of racing at Match Race Germany. Langenargen, 16 May 2013. Photo copyright Brian Carlin / Alpari World Match Racing Tour

The two German teams of leading Laser sailor Philipp Buhl and German National Match Racing Champion Sven Erik Horsch have yet to get off the bottom of the leaderboard, with Horsch on no wins and newbie match racer Buhl’s only victory taken off his fellow countryman. Johnie Berntsson is also on a single win as is Karol Jablonski.

Match Race Germany defending champion New Zealand’s Phil Robertson and his WAKA Racing team has also got off to a slow start on just two wins against Berntsson and Jablonski. “It was tough,” said Robertson. “We led around the top mark in four out of five but we lost it downwind. So we are just ironing out the creases.”

The qualifying series continues tomorrow with the start time scheduled for 0900.

STAGE 1: Match Race Germany – Qualifying Round
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 4-1
Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team 4-1
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 4-1
Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone 3-2
Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 3-2
Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX 3-2
Björn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team 3-2
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 2-3
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team 2-3
Philip Buhl (GER) Deutsches Youth America’s Cup Team 1-4
Karol Jablonski (GER) Jablonski Sailing Team 1-4
Sven Erick-Horsch (GER) NRV Match Race Team 0-5

[Source: Congressional Cup] Not to mention Ed Baird, who had been away from the game for a few years but holds a share of third place at 3-2 with Italy’s Simone Ferrarese.

It must mean something that Richard, Williams and Baird are all former winners of the event’s traditional Crimson Blazer—Williams the last two—because the conditions were so atypical Long Beach, with its normally reliable southwest sea breeze a no-show until late in the afternoon.

Veterans and newcomers alike were boggled when the wind shifted around the clock through the afternoon—first from southeast, stirring up sand on the beach, then turning a hard left with a nor’easter from downtown and finally to the familiar southwest with velocities varying from 12 to 18 knots, with gusts to 22 over a choppy, course of whitecaps.

PRO Randy Smith and his mark boat laborers had their hands full all afternoon. The second round robin flight was abandoned after two of five races when the wind did a 180. Competitors suddenly found themselves dropping their spinnakers on the downwind legs of the two-lap matches around the 0.4-nautical mile windward-leeward course, then raising them after rounding the “leeward” mark to go … uh, upwind?

Even Williams’ four-time world champion GAC Pindar team suffered confusion that they thought cost them their only loss of the day, to Richard.

“We had a penalty to erase, and we knew that you can do that with just a jibe and a tack downwind but have to do a [270-degree] circle upwind,” Williams said, with some humor in his tone of voice.

But although they were sailing downwind toward the breakwater inside the Long Beach outer harbor they instinctively did the full upwind maneuver, which cost them just enough extra time for Richard to win by 16 seconds.

Richard agreed, “That may have made the difference.”

Nevertheless, Williams said, “It was a good day for having good guys on the front of the boat getting the sails up and down.”

Later, during the second flight, the race course aimed at downtown Long Beach shifted again to southwest—”normal” Long Beach—and kicked up from 15 to 18 knots, with gusts to 22, causing Smith to abandon the flight with only two of five matches completed. The other three were sailed at the end of the day.

Richard, who won the Congressional in 2007, said the Catalina 37s are a handful in conditions they saw Tuesday.

“Handling the boat is not easy in the strong breeze,” he said, smiling, “but I guess we did better than the others.”

Two round-robin rotations will be followed by sailoffs through Saturday. Competition is at Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier on the Long Beach outer harbor starting at noon daily, conditions permitting.

The Congressional has a $60,000 purse, including $15,000 to the winner, along with the traditional Crimson Blazer.

[Source: Alpari World Match Racing Tour] Light and shifty Maloja winds held out just long enough on Lake St. Moritz to complete a tense Final battle between former Champion Mathieu Richard (FRA) Loire Atlantique Sailing Team and Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing, who made it to his first Tour event Final in his first year as a Tour Card Holder for his best career result to date.

Swinton, said: “It is an amazing feeling, i’m a bit speechless. After we lost the fourth one we thought that maybe it was over and we wouldn’t have time to race the final race but we did and we just made sure that we learnt from the mistakes we’d made in the previous races.

“To take out the win is really, really special for us and really exciting. It’s absolutely brilliant. It’s been a long, hard day and i think this can kick start our season. Marseille is coming up and we’ll look forward to that one even more now.”

The Final started with first match going to Richard. He pushed Swinton towards the committe boat at the end of pre-start, resulting in a touch between the boats whilst Swinton was tacking to avoid the committee boat, also crossing the start line early. In addition to having to restart, Swinton carried the resulting penalty for much of the match, leaving the Frenchman able to comfortably close out the match after extending his lead around the course.

Swinton took little time to regroup his crew, levelling 1-1 in the second match after an exciting finish. An energetic pre-start which saw Swinton take a controlling position as well as penalty picked up by his opponent in the pre-start for a port-starboard incident. A close race continued into a side-by-side turn around the final mark onto the last downwind leg.

Keith Swinton is the new King of the Mountain. St Moritz, 2 September 2012. Photo copyright Andrew Carter / Alpari World Match Racing Tour

Richard looked for a way to offset his penalty, slowing down to set up a tactical battle of wits and boat handling on the finish line. Swinton kept a cool head as Richard tried to push him wide of the finishing mark, rolling him and diving across the line to level the score.

Swinton failed to take match point at the first time of asking, losing a crew member into the water in the pre-start. As the boats split left and right off of the line, Richard made the better decisions throughout the match when looking for breeze on the course and took a very dominant lead with one lap still to sail. He crossed the line to level the scores once again.

The winner-takes-all final match was equally tight before Swinton found some good pressure on the left hand side to carve out a two boat length lead ahead of the final leg. His Black Swan Racing team finished with huge smiles on their faces.

Swinton went on to reflect on the day’s Semi-Final against Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwimatch Sailing Team: “It certainly was very intesnse out there in the Semi’s with very light and extremely difficult conditions. It could have gone either way, Laurie sailed very well. We both had chances at times and we were fortunate enough to get the win in that one.

“We’ll have a look at the leaderboard tonight to see how we’re doing in the overall standings.”

Richard didn‘t manage to complete the trio of St. Moritz wins that he had hoped for, but was pleased with the result and considered his future on the Tour next year, saying: “I don‘t know if we would have taken this result before we started but it’s a good result. We did some good sailing against strong opponents and i can only say congratulations to Keith [Swinton].

“I’m not suprised at all to see these new young teams coming to the Tour and improving to beat the teams at the top level. We hope to be back to the Tour again next year and will try to take the win next time we do.”

Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team was also disappointed not to get closer to the ‘King of the Mountain‘ title which had eluded him in 2011 but was full of praise for his French compatriot, who beat him in the Semi-Final, saying: “We tried to sail as good as we can but Mathieu [Richard] was enough to win the two matches today. We were backing him in the Final but it wasn’t a win for either of us in the end.

“In the second match we stayed close and got a good puff after a split gybe in the last downwind but it just wasn’t quite enough and we lost. Maybe we were a little bit unlucky at times. Over the two matches against Mathieu i think there was only one metre in it. Unfortunately, in match racing, one metre is the same as one lake.”

Looking at the wider Tour, Morvan can take some consolation in his points gain over the top two on the overall leaderboard, Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team and Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar, who were knocked out earlier in the event. He said: “It’s positive that a few of our close Tour competitors were knocked out before us here but would have been even more positive if we had won the event. We are looking forward to Match Race France first, where we know the boats really well and hopefully it’ll be one of our best results. We will see.”

Having been the dominant team in the opening days of competition and winning qualifying to take an automatic passge to the Semi-Final, Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwimatch Sailing Team found the opposition tougher on the last day of the regatta. He lost his last four match against Keith Swinton and was understandably dissappointed after going on to lose the Petit Final against Morvan to take fourth place, saying: “I don’t necessarily think that it was a disadvantage to get less time on the water, skipping the Quarter Finals. Watching the matches yesterday, it was a bit of a lottery so i’d rather have missed them if it meant guarenteed progression to the Semi’s.

“We’re still one of the fresher teams out there so we’re picking up experience in these events. We had a really tight Semi Final which was affected by the conditions and i think that might have spun our heads out a bit for the Petit Final. Overall we sailed alright and we’ll keep learning from events like this.”

The race for Alpari World Match Racing Tour glory will resume at Match Race France in Marseille from 24 – 29 September. All of the teams have the option of using their score from that event as a contributor to their overall points total so it’ll be all to play for once again in France.

St. Moritz Match Race – Finishing Positions:

Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing
Mathieu Richard (FRA) Loire Atlantique Sailing Team
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team
Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwimatch Sailing Team
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar
Jerome Clerc (SUI) Team CER
Eric Monnin (SUI) Okalys Corum
Josh Junior (NZL) Wellington Spirit
Phil Robertson (NZ) WAKA Racing

Overall Tour Championship Standings – after 5 stages:
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team – 93pts
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar – 87pts
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing – 69pts
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team – 69pts
Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing – 64pts
Phil Robertson (NZ) WAKA Racing – 56pts
Laurie Jury (NZ) Kiwi Match – 49pts
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team – 35pts
Mathieu Richard (FRA) Loire Atlantique Sailing Team – 28pts
Jordan Reece (AUS) Estate Master Sailing Team – 22pts

[Source: RC44 Class Association] The 2012 RC44 Championship Tour kicked off in Puerto Calero, Lanzarote with a full day of match racing. A familiar team was at the top of the leader-board after nine flights and six matches a piece, and some new faces showed they will be real contenders this season.

Ask Team Aqua (GBR) what makes them so good and they will always answer ‘consistency’, and the key to that consistency has to be their team. Cameron Appleton (NZL) was at the helm today and had a familiar team around him, names like Matt Cassidy (USA) and Andrew Estcourt (NZL). With six wins and no defeats their season started as it ended in 2011 and credit went to the team. “The guys really need to take credit for today they did a great job, it was tricky and everybody got tested, every boat had issues and a big part of what they did all day long was what got us around the race course in such good shape.” Cameron Appleton, match race helm and tactician, Team Aqua.

Former World Match Race Champion Ed Baird (USA) is new to the class; today he took the helm of Synergy Russian Sailing Team and they nearly finished the day with a clean sheet, had it not been for a ripped spinnaker in their race against Katusha, who also finished the day with a 5-1 score-line with new helmsman in the form of four-time America’s Cup winner Brad Butterworth (NZL).

Baird was happy with his first day’s racing with the Russian Synergy team. “It was really exciting conditions today with the big shifts and big gusts which was a lot of fun. The team is fantastic these guys are very well prepared I’m impressed with how well they sail the boat, it makes my job a lot easier when I know that everything is going to go smoothly. Unfortunately we had one race where we broke the spinnaker and lost that race but otherwise it was a very good day!” Tomorrow s owner Valentin Zavadnikov will take over the helm.

Pieter Heerema was the top rated owner driver on the water with No Way Back (NED) winning four, and losing two, defeats coming from Team Aqua and the French Aleph Sailing Team steered by Mathieu Richard. A good start to the 2012 season and some new additions to the team as Heerema explained. “We thought it might get a bit too windy for a good day of match racing but it worked out really well, in fact the weather was absolutely fantastic.We have some new team members and our new tactician (Ross MacDonald) worked really well with the crew, so we’re very happy.”

With the NE wind picking up to 20 knots at times and the fleet raced to the leeward side of the Island, it really was a baptism of fire for the 14 teams. One team whose results really didn’t reflect their performance on the water was AFX Capital Racing Team (ITA), but the Italian team were in no way down beat at the end of the day. “The racing today was fantastic. I really enjoyed it even if we lost all of our match races. For me it was my first experience and for most of the team the boat is a new one so with each match we found more details that we need to improve on. I’m looking forward to the fleet racing; we can work on the boat speed and have some good races for sure, I am very optimistic about that.” Massimo Barranco, owner AFX Capital Racing Team.

With six matches completed by each of the teams in Lanzarote, the continuous round robin will carry on throughout the season at every RC44 event until the end of the season in Croatia where the 2012 RC44 Match Racing Champion will be crowned.

The fleet racing which counts for the RC44 Championship starts on Thursday 9th February at 12.00 GMT. Racing continues through to Sunday 12th February

Jesper Radich clearly dominated Peter Gilmour in the best-of-three Petite Final and took the bronze in the 2011 Monsoon Cup. It was a well-deserved victory for the Danish skipper as he held the lead from start to finish throughout the two races, even when he hit the starting line of the second race with a penalty.

The first race didn’t stand out for what happened on but rather off the water and in particular the balcony of the impressive marina. The World Match Racing Tour introduced in the 2011 Monsoon Cup an innovation, allowing teams to have off-the-water coaches or observers that can interact with the crews during the race and communicate with them through radio, providing their insight and advice from a much higher vantage point.

The only skipper to have brought his own coach prior to the start of the event was Ian Williams. However, as more skippers were eliminated in the quarterfinals and semifinals, they became available, and allowed, to act as the eye in the sky for the ones that advanced through the competition. After failing to make it to the quarterfinals, France’s Mathieu Richard became Peter Gilmour’s coach.

Jesper Radich crosses the finish line ahead of Peter Gilmour and takes the bronze in the Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 27 November 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

Despite his poor results in the races, his insight is always much sought-after, if it is obviously followed… In the first race of the Petite Finale, Richard’s advice was for Gilmour to stick on the right-hand side of the course, as it paid handsomely throughout the day. However, the Australian skipper and his crew decided to go the opposite way and paid the price… Radich won with a margin of several boatlengths.

The second race was much more contested with a close fight in the prestart. The race committee had set the committee boat and pin end a stone’s throw from the pontoon, promising exciting racing, and that’s what we got. Both skippers were penalized for going over the exclusion zone after pushing each other a few meters from the berths and then Radich got another flag for tacking too close to Gilmour at the committee boat. Nevertheless, he got the much favored right, in the lead and with greater speed. Not only did he keep the lead, he managed to stretch his advantage enough to offload his penalty halfway up the second beat and remain ahead. In the final run, Gilmour tried to find something on the left but to no avail. Radich scored a second well-deserved victory and finished third overall in the Monsoon Cup.

The fourth place in the Monsoon Cup puts Gilmour definitely out of the WMRT podium. Whatever the result of the final between Williams and Berntsoon might be Gilmour will finish the 2011 season fifth overall.

Mathieu Richard, the eye in the sky for Peter Gilomur, ready to radio his advice to the Australian skipper. If only Gilmour had followed it... Kuala Terengganu, 27 November 2011. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

 [Source: World Match Racing Tour] Ian Williams continued his great run of form by qualifying for the knock out stages of the 2011 Argo Group Gold Cup after an epic third Qualifying Session in Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda. Wildcard Staffan Lindberg was the sole non-Tour Card Holder to automatically qualify for the knock out stages after finishing top of his group.

The wind continued to build in Bermuda today where big gusts rolled across Hamilton Harbour, forcing teams to hike hard all day around the course. In Group 3 it all came down to the final flight, with Ian Williams, Mathieu Richard and Damien Iehl all on 5 wins and Eric Monnin close behind on 4.

Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar sponsored by Argo Group was involved in a close tussle with Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team, the lead changing hands several times amid plenty of penalty calls. Williams was the eventual victor and goes through to the quarter-finals with a 6-1 scoreline and first pick as the top seed.

In the other key match, Monnin (SUI) Oklays Corum beat Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team and would’ve qualified automatically in second place, but the Swiss was given a half point penalty for a collision. It cost him dearly –the penalty relegating him to the repechage and propelling Richard into the quarter-finals: “We’re disappointed. Because of that crappy half point penalty we’re in the repechage. We knew the half point could be a decider but it’s frustrating because it wasn’t clearly our fault. We now have to overcome some strong teams in the repechage but we’ve got a good chance.”

Despite winning all three of his matches today to bring his Qualifying score to 4-2, Simone Ferrarese (ITA) Ferrarese Racing Team failed to make it to the repechage, underlining just how difficult it is to qualify here in a group headed by three Tour Card Holders. “We did really well today – to only miss the repechage by 1 point is disappointing. We’ll take that experience away and use it to keep improving.”

Overnight in Group 2, Francesco Bruni, Jesper Radich and Staffan Lindberg were all sitting pretty with undefeated scorelines however one would have to fall with only 2 automatic qualification places on offer. Two immediate defeats for Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing at the hands of Lindberg (SWE) Alandia Sailing Team and then Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners all but ended the Italian’s chances of automatic qualification. By the time Bruni crossed the line to defeat Hansen in the final match both teams had already been forced into the repechage after Lindberg had secured top spot with a victory over the already qualified Radich.

Bruni remains confident though and believes a few tough matches in the repechage could play to his advantage: “The repechage round is hard but if you get through you’re in a stronger position as you have five extra races behind you. We struggled with the strong winds this morning but feel we’ve sorted the problem. Hopefully we sail well and go through even stronger.”

Lindberg is the only non-Tour Card Holder to automatically qualify for the knock out stages at the Gold Cup and feels confident to be around the big names: “It’s great to beat the card holders but we’ve got experience racing them and we’re on good form this year with a 4th at the Congressional Cup. The one loss today won’t play on our minds – it gives you more motivation and stops you becoming complacent.”

As in Group 3, the final Group 2 standings would only be decided in the final flight. Canfield, yesterday’s form skipper in the group was aiming to join Lindberg as the only other non-Tour Card Holder to automatically qualify for the quarter-finals. A loss against Lance Fraser (BER) FreeLance-Digicel and a win against Sam Pearson (GBR) Team Wight Match meant he still required a further victory in his last race against Reuben Corbett (NZL) AON Racing to make sure of it.

He didn’t manage it, which leaves Canfield (ISV) Team ISV to fight it out in the repechage: “They weren’t easy matches today and while we were able to grind our way back against Corbett it wasn’t enough. We’ve sailed all the teams in the repechage so we’ll just go out there tomorrow and see what we can do.”

Meanwhile, the four teams of Mirsky, Gilmour, Berntsson and Robertson were locked with one team sure to go home. Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat dug deep today, winning all three of his matches to pull himself into top spot, his last win coming against Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing who needed that point to make it into the repechage. Reflecting on his day, the 3-time Gold Cup winner said: “It was an important day today and we had to do a lot of winning. In the first race we sailed against Berntsson and were about 10 boat lengths in front but we received a penalty out of the blue. We found out it was because the boundary mark had shifted.  It was cruel justice and it’s thrown us out.

“I don’t think it’s the end of our World Championship hopes, this was really a bonus event for us so we will likely count the Denmark points instead. This wasn’t in our game plan but someone has to go. You’ll see us bigger and better at the next event.”   

The winner between Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing and Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team would decide the final automatic qualifying spot and it went to the young Kiwi. He now has the chance to collect some valuable points in Bermuda to keep alive his chances of qualifying for the Monsoon Cup.

The repechage and quarter-finals get underway at 0900 local time (-4hrs GMT) on Friday 7 October.

Results after Qualifying Session Three:

Group One:
Q – Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team 6-1
Q – Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners 6-1
R – Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing 5-2
R – Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekononmen Sailing Team 4-3
Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 3-4
Blythe Walker (BER) Team RenRe 3-4
Jakub Pawluk (POL) Henri Lloyd Racing 1-6
Jordan Reece (AUS) True Blue Racing 0-7

Group Two:
Q – Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat 5-2
Q – Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 4-3
R – Taylor Canfield (ISV) Team ISV 4-3
R – Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 4-3
Reuben Corbett NZL) AON Racing Team 3-4
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 3-4
Lance Fraser (BER) Freelance-Digicel 3-4
Sam Pearson (GBR) Team Wight Match 2-5

Group Three:
Q – Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar sponsored by Argo group 6-1
Q – Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5-2
R – Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5-2
R – Eric Monnin (SUI) Oklays Corum Sailing Team 4.5-2
Simone Ferrarese (ITA) Ferrarese Racing Team 4-3
Laurie Jury (NZL) ZOKE Kiwi Match 2-5
Terry McLaughlin (CAN) Team Commonwealth 1-6
Peter Miller (BER) Miller Match Racing 0-7

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Mathieu Richard turned his fortune around at the 2011 St. Moritz Match Race after digging deep in the final Qualifying Session to book his place in the quarter-finals while Championship leader Francesco Bruni failed to qualify for the knock out stages in consecutive World Match Racing Tour events.

There were two key battles to be decided today. The first was to determine whether Williams, Berntsson or Mirsky would qualify directly for the semi-finals and the second was all about which teams in the tight chasing pack of Richard, Bruni, Radich, Iehl, Hansen and Morvan, would join them in the knock-out stages. Although the Maloja took some time to arrive on Lake St. Moritz, it was worth the wait.

As the event moved into the very final flight, only a few things had been resolved – Williams held an unassailable lead and occupied that coveted semi-final spot while Iehl and Berntsson were both assured of quarter-final places.

Overnight, the pressure was all on the defending ‘King of the Mountain’ Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team who needed to win both his remaining races to be sure of a quarter-final berth and some welcome Championship points. He put in a faultless display against Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team, leading from start to finish and followed that up with an equally impressive performance against Jérôme Clerc who never got close enough to the Frenchman to shake off an early penalty.

Mathieu Richard, reigning King of the Mountain, makes it to the quarterfinals and will be able to defend his title. St. Moritz, 2 September 2011. Photo copyright Loris von Sybenthal / St Moritz Match Race

“We are very happy with the way we sailed today, we knew we had to win those two points and we went out and did it – we got the job done and hopefully that’s enough to see us through to the next round. We need to go and analyse our qualifying matches to see what we need to work on.”

If Richard was feeling the heat, Championship leader Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing was also under an intense spotlight. If Bruni failed to qualify here and Williams finishes third or higher, the Italian would relinquish his Championship lead for the first time since stage three in Korea with just two stages to go.

He was out the blocks fast with a win over Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners however a defeat at the hands of Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team meant Bruni needed a win against his arch rival Williams in the last match of the day to secure his place in the quarter-finals. Williams wasn’t about to be lenient as there were vital gains to be made in the Championship and he battled hard to come from behind having trailed round the first mark to enjoy a tight victory over Bruni after their first race was abandoned.

Speaking after his race against Williams, Bruni reflected: “It’s disappointing for us as it’s the second time that we haven’t made it through. He’s sailing well and has had a bit of luck on his side, especially against us. We were leading the first match against him but then it was abandoned.

“We’ve learnt that we need to be strong from the very beginning. Our first day was bad and we really lost it then, you can’t afford to lead in 3 races that you end up losing. We will now try and fight to the very end. Bermuda will be our last chance to get closer to Ian.”

After a strong start to the event with three consecutive wins, Bjorn Hansen (DEN) Mekonomen Sailing has struggled for consistency, citing a series of poor starts as his Achilles heel. After a defeat against Radich, Hansen really needed to win his last two races to secure a place in the next round. Unfortunately his Achilles heel reared up, over the line at the start and a penalty too put pay to his chances against Williams. Against Iehl, Hansen held fast to grind out a win in a match where the lead changed several times. The win brought his total to five points but he would rely on Williams versus Bruni – the final match of the final flight – to determine his fate. A Williams win would see him through at the expense of Bruni and so it was.

Hansen now has a chance to turn around an inconsistent season to date in which a first and second has been countered by a tenth, twelfth and eighth. Having reached the quarter-finals, Hansen commented: “We’re happy to go through but it was pure luck. We are eager for a medal at the end of the season and it is vital we get a good result here to be in a position to achieve that.”

The quarter-finals will see Johnie Berntsson versus Pierre-Antoine Morvan, Damien Iehl against Bjorn Hansen and Torvar Mirsky take on Mathieu Richard.

Standings after the Third Qualifying Session:
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 10-1
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 7-4
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 7-4
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat 7-4
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Extreme Team Morbihan 6-5
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 6-5
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team 5-6
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing 5-6
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 5-6
Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners 4-7
Eric Monnin (SUI) Oklays Corum Sailing Team 3-8
Jérôme Clerc (SUI) Team CER 1-10

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Mathieu Richard believes his chances of winning the 2011 Match Racing World Championship have all but disappeared and is now citing a third ‘King of the Mountains’ title at the St. Moritz Match Race as the boost he needs to realise his new goal of an overall podium finish.

On the eve of the 2011 St. Moritz Match Race, Richard and his French Match Racing Team find themselves in a very different situation to last season when they entered the sixth stage of the World Match Racing Tour with a commanding Championship lead. A disappointing season so far leaves them languishing in eighth place, forcing them to reassess their goals: “Mathematically it is still possible for us to win but we are realistic about things. Our aim now is to get closer to the leaders to try and achieve a podium finish overall. ”

It will be a difficult week for Richard with a further seven of the nine Tour Card Holders competing in St. Moritz, a group headed by Tour leader Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing. Richard though is in bullish mood and believes it is Bruni who carries the most pressure: “Last year we were obviously under a lot more pressure than we are now – the leader always feels it more. We are naturally very competitive so I’d prefer to be on top and under the pressure that I know Francesco will be feeling now.”

Aside from less pressure, Richard has every reason to be confident. The conditions on Lake St. Moritz are traditionally challenging but it’s a venue that he seems to tune into well: “Racing here really suits our team’s style, we have won twice and we like it very much. The small boats and shifty conditions are a great challenge and it can make it very tricky with tactics and trimming but that’s what we like.”

While Richard may feel his chance to win the 2011 Championship has passed, Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners is only 22 points adrift of Bruni and has prepared well for what is not only his St. Moritz debut but also an event that could determine his title chances: “We’ve had a couple of days to practice and I’ve also spent two and a half weeks sailing in another light boat to prepare for these [Blu26] boats here.”

“We will need to achieve top results at the remaining events to beat the top guys. There are enough points yet to be won and lost. It’s really how you end your season that counts, the teams who pick up their game now will be the ones that win.”

The first Qualifying Session will kick off tomorrow and feature Tour leader Francesco Bruni and title contenders Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat and Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team in the first flight. Catch the preview on The WMRT Morning Show with Hannah White at www.wmrt.com from 1100 local time (GMT +2) and a review of the day on The WMRT Today Show after racing finishes. Live coverage begins on Thursday 1 September from 1400 to 1600 local time (GMT +2).

Teams for St. Moritz Match Race 2011
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat
Jepser Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Extreme Team Morbihan
Eric Monnin (SUI) Swiss Match Race Team
Jerome Clerc (SUI) Team CER

2011 ISAF World Match Race Tour – ranking after five stages
1 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing – 81pts
2 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing – 74pts
3 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar – 71pts
4 Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners – 59pts
5 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat – 59pts
6 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team – 57pts
7 Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team – 57pts
8 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team – 53pts
9 Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing – 39pts
10 Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team – 34pts