Jesper Bank still leading, but three are tied behind him at Danish Open

(Source: World Match Racing Tour) Three crews made a bid today for the lead at the Danish Open, Stage 2 of the 2006-’07 World Match Racing Tour, but the Day 1 leader remained atop the standings despite not having sailed a race today.

Jesper Bank (DEN), United Internet Team Germany, leads the Danish Open with a 4-0 record which he posted yesterday, but Sebastian Col (FRA), Areva Challenge, Björn Hansen (SWE), Team Apport.net, and Staffan Lindberg (FIN), Alandia Sailing Team, moved ahead of Bank in terms of wins.

All three are tied at 6-2 hot on the heels of Bank. Hansen and Lindberg won their three matches while Col went 2-1 on the day.

Skipper Staffan Lindberg of the Alandia Sailing Team eyes a tight mark rounding ahead. Photo copyright Per Heegaard/Danish Open

The Danish Open was interrupted today by a lack of wind. A front moved across the Oresund (the body of water between Denmark and Sweden) this morning and robbed the area of wind while depositing large amounts of rain. The weather cleared early in the afternoon and racing resumed around 2:15 pm, but the schedule was altered because Bank had to travel to Germany for a launching party for his United Internet Team Germany, which saw its new America’s Cup Class sloop, GER-89, make its first sail this week. The altered schedule meant that crews led by Jes Gram-Hansen, Ian Williams and Bank never sailed today.

Winds in the afternoon were from the east, starting around 10 knots and building up to 16 knots later in the day. The action was intense, with fierce pre-starts, overlaps at mark roundings and the right-of-way boat frequently sailing its competitor well past the leeward mark.

Peter Wibroe also enjoyed a solid day. The 21-year-old Dane, skipper of Team Wibroe, won his three matches and moved from 11th up to 7th place with a 4-4 record.

Wibroe made his World Tour debut at this event two years ago, and at No. 19 is now the highest-ranked Danish skipper on the ISAF Open Match Race Ranking List.

“Two years ago this was a big event for us,” said Wibroe. “We feel we’ve developed quite a lot. We are a young team still.”

Skipper Björn Hansen and Team Apport.net. Photo copyright Per Heegaard/Danish Open

After opening the regatta at 1-4, Wibroe today defeated reigning Women’s world champion Dorte O. Jensen, New Zealander Simon Minoprio and Frenchman Mathieu Richard, currently 5th in the World Championship standings.

Wibroe said getting his mindset straight overnight after opening with a 1-4 record was a key to doing well today.

“We might have practiced too much. We weren’t prepared mentally,” said Wibroe. “It’s more important to be mentally prepared.” Wibroe said that his starting and boathandling was OK today, the real key was the confidence and upwind tactics. “We had good upwind tactics,” said Wibroe, complimenting tactician Jeppe Rasmussen. “We made gains on our splits so that we were always leading downwind. We had to remember that we’ve beaten guys like this before.”

Wibroe has three matches remaining against Bank, Ian Williams and Jes Gram-Hansen, all seemingly tough ones. But he pointed to his final three matches two years ago when asked if he has a chance to make the semifinals. “Two years ago we defeated Peter Gilmour, Philippe Presti and Chris Law in our final three races,” Wibroe said. “We hope to do it again.”

Sebastian Col (left) and Simon Minoprio engage in pre-start action in Flight 19. Photo copyright Per Heegaard/Danish Open

Danish Open 2006 Provisional Standings
(After 15 of 22 scheduled flights)
1. Jesper Bank (DEN) United Internet Team Germany, 4-0
2. Sebastian Col (FRA) Areva Challenge, 6-2
T. Björn Hansen (SWE) Team Apport.net, 6-2
T. Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 6-2
5. Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Sail Racing, 3-1
6. Sten Mohr (DEN) BMW ORACLE Racing, 4-4
7. Peter Wibroe (DEN) Team Wibroe, 4-4
8. Dorte O. Jensen (DEN) Team Sjælsø Gruppen, 4-5
9. Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN) Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia, 1-2
10. Mads Ebler (DEN), 2-6
11. Simon Minoprio (NZL) Vision Yachting, 2-8
12. Mathieu Richard (FRA) Saba Sailing Team, 2-8