World Tour Veterans Lead After Brasil Sailing Cup Opening

ISAF Match Racing World Champion Ian WILLIAMS got his 2008 season off to the perfect start with an undefeated opening on day one of the Brasil Sailing Cup.

Brilliant sunshine and a steady 10-12 knot easterly breeze gave the perfect start to today’s first day of match race competition in the Brasil Sailing Cup, the year’s first event of the World Match Racing Tour.

Ian WILLIAMS (GBR) and his Team Pindar are showing their World Champion style, being undefeated among their five other rivals in Group A, while WMRT veteran Magnus HOLMBERG (SWE) shares the top of the leaderboard also on three wins.

Among the six teams in Group B, Paolo CIAN (ITA) of Team Shosholoza and Bjorn HANSEN (SWE) of Alandia Sailing Team emerged undefeated in their two flights of the day. Group B will be first to resume round-robin competition in the morning.

“We had a good day today but it wasn’t all straight forward,” said HOLMBERG. “We had a tough match against Adam MINOPRIO, he won the start and led round the first mark, and then we had a luffing duel down the run but couldn’t get around him. It was close at the last mark and we just managed to pass him down the run to the finish.” Adam MINOPRIO(NZL) of Emirates Team New Zealand, BlackMatch Racing is just one of several new and talented teams entering WMRT competition in this event.

WILLIAMS, the reigning WMRT leader and World Champion, also had his hands full in his match against young Torvar MIRSKY (AUS) and his Mirsky Racing Team. In his match against MIRSKY an aggressive pre-start saw WILLIAMS penalized early on but with 30 seconds left to the start an infringement by the young Australian resulted in a Red Flag immediate penalty handed to him by the Umpires.

Results

Group A

Ian WILLIAMS (GBR), Team Pindar 3-0
Magnus HOLMBERG (SWE), Victory Challenge 3-0
Torvar MIRSKY (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team 2-1
Adam MINOPRIO (NZL), Emirates Team New Zealand, BlackMatch Racing 1-2
Daniel GLOMB (BRA), Team Bravissimo 0-3
Juan GRIMALDI (ARG), Giant Sailing Team 0-3

Group B

Paolo CIAN (ITA), Team Shosholoza 2-0
Bjorn HANSEN (SWE), Alandia Sailing Team 2-0
Pierre Antoine MORVAN (FRA), Equipe de France espoir de match racing 1-1
Mattias RAHM (SWE), Stenna Bulk Sailing Team 1-1
Peter WIBROE (DEN), Wibroe Sailing Team 0-2
Henrique HADDAD (BRA), Tag Heuer Sailing Team 0-1

Brasil Sailing Cup – www.brasilsailingcup.com
World Match Racing Tour – www.worldmatchracingtour
ISAF Match Racing World Championship microsite – www.sailing.org/matchworlds