AC Masters To Be Challenged By Match Racing Rookies

Next weekend will see Germany’s top match racing talent come head to head at the AUDI Spring Battle 04 at Lake Wannsee, Berlin, to determine who will win the battle of generations.

Seventeen teams, which comprise of some of the best German match racers in the country next to the America´s Cup Elite, Jochen SCHUEMANN (AC Winner with Alinghi 2002/03) and Tim KROEGER (Le Defi, AC 2002/03) as well as Simon SHAW (GBR Challenge 2007), will make their way through to the final which is bound to see some exciting racing and closely fought matches.

Racing gets underway Friday 26 March with the qualifier event consisting of eight boats of which top three teams get to move on to the ISAF Grade 3 event starting on Saturday and continues through until Sunday 28 of March when the champion of the AUDI Spring Battle will be decided.

The pre-race favourite for the event has to be Jochen SCHUEMANN, who signed up with his Alinghi team mates Nils FREY and Yves DETREY and who will be looking forward to challenge the young international match racing scene on the Streamline boat.

Competition is set to be tough and with the likes of young match racers as Paul CAMPBELL-JAMES (GBR), Simon SHAW (GBR), Felix KRUSE (AUT) and recently crowned German Match Racing Champion Carsten KEMMLING amongst the line up it should be a good battle to see who will come out on top.

Matchklub.ltd Event Manager Philipp KADELBACH commented on the line-up, “Amongst the seventeen teams that have entered the Grade 5 event and who are qualified for the Grade 3 event there is a great number of talented international match race rookies coming mostly from dinghy sailing and who are amped to challenge the AC-Elite and Big Boat sailors. We are curious to see if the big boat sailors will be able to continue their performance on the speedy, twin-trapeze and spinnaker boats. It looks like it will be a closely fought battle of smart racing and boats handling.”

Qualified Teams for AUDI Spring Battle 04 , ISAF Grade 3 event:

1. Jochen SCHÜMANN (GER)
2. Tim KRÖGER (GER)
3. Simon SHAW (GBR)
4. Paul CAMPBELL-JAMES (GBR)
5. Carsten KEMMLING (GER)
6. Andreas LABEK (GER)
7. Felix KRUSE (AUT)
8. Stefan MEISTER (GER)
9. Philipp KADELBACH (GER)

Qualified Teams for AUDI Spring Battle 04, ISAF Grade 5 event:

1. Franziska UNKELBACH (GER)
2. Hendrik WITZMANN (GER)
3. Alina GROBE (GER)
4. Hendrik KADELBACH (GER)
5. Ludger GAWLITTA (GER)
6. Jan-Eike ANDRESEN (GER)
7. Philipp ROTERMUND (GER)
8. Jens RÜGGESIEG (GER)