Ainslie Beats Richard to Take a Step Closer to World Match Racing Champion Title

Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN took control of his battle for the ISAF Match Racing World Championship today by defeating his arch rival Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team in the Quarter-Finals of the Monsoon Cup, the final leg of the tour and is guaranteed to land the title if he goes on to win the regatta.

Ainslie picked the Frenchman for the Quarter-Finals to take his nearest rival for the championship out of contention at the earliest opportunity – a bold move given Richard held the advantage in head-to-heads this season. It was a well calculated risk though.

Ainslie was dominant at the start of their four races, however Richard was in no mood to concede. In the first race the Frenchman quickly closed the gap, but was on the give way port tack and had to duck behind the British skipper. However, in a classic and perfectly executed manoeuvre, Ainslie bore away by the maximum amount allowed by the rules, putting Richard firmly in his sights. The Frenchman didn’t respond and there was a mammoth collision, with the umpires ruling in Ainslie’s favour.

Richard continued to push hard, but couldn’t recover in that race and made an appalling start in the next, being over the line at the gun earning a red flag penalty for a second collision. Yet he maintained impressive composure to slowly claw back Ainslie’s advantage, then rolled past him on the first downwind leg and held the lead to the finish.

Highlights from day 4 of the Monsoon Cup. Kuala Terengganu, 4 December 2010. Video copyright World Match Racing Tout

With the match evenly poised, Ainslie started to turn the screws on Richard in the next two starts. Having gained the lead, he was able to control both races around the course, to win and progress to the Semi-Finals.

Ainslie cannot afford to rest on his laurels though. With Richard managing to squeeze into the Quarter-Finals yesterday by ousting defending champion Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, the Brit must now finish in either 1st or 2nd place in the Monsoon Cup, depending on how Richard performs in the play-off for 5th to 8th places.

“It was a big deal for us to knock Mathieu out and very important for the overall results for the championship. The conditions were really difficult but the team did a great job - we're very happy to have come through it. We still have a lot of work to do - the Semi-Finals are going to be another big battle, whoever we pick to race”, reflected Ainslie.

While Ainslie got his choice of opponent spot on, Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar will rue his pick. Having reached the Quarter-Finals with an impressive 10-1 scoreline, he opted for event wildcard Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team who, ironically, was the man to inflict the one defeat on the Englishman during the Qualifying Stages.

Williams continued his rich vein of form to take the first race, however it was a false dawn. Hansen rallied his team and within 5 minutes of the start of the second race, he was ahead and never looked back to level the scores. It gave the Swede the impetus he needed and the remaining two races looked almost a formality for him, finishing ahead by some margin in both.

Rising Australian star Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team, was the only other sailor starting the day with a chance of winning the World Championship and produced a masterful display to comprehensively defeat match racing legend Peter Gilmour 3-0, and keep alive his slim hopes of winning the title.

The pair took to the water with Gilmour holding a slight edge over Mirsky with an 8-7 career record. The first match was a tight as the record, with both skippers mustering all their experience to get the advantage. Almost level and both on starboard, Mirsky started to pull away and then stamped his authority on the race by tacking to cross Gilmour before tacking back onto Gilmour’s wind to effectively seal the win.

The photo of the day. Ben Ainslie and Mathieu Richard collide. Kuala Terengganu, 4 December 2010. Photo copyright SubZero Images / World Match Racing Tout

Flight 2 saw Gilmour try to get the upper hand in the dial up by rolling Mirsky to port but it was Mirsky who led Gilmour to the first mark, rounding it 2 lengths clear - a lead he held to the finish.

With Gilmour in desperate need of a win he got off to a strong start, but it was Mirsky who found better pressure on the first beat and rounded the mark 12 seconds ahead. Mirsky held the stronger current on the right hand side of the course extending his lead and take the victory.

The result leaves Mirsky relying on results to fall his way to capture his maiden World Championship. To stand any chance he must win the Monsoon Cup and hope that Richard finishes no higher than 8th and that Ainslie cannot do better than third.

Only one Quarter-Final match went to five races - Jesper Radich (DEN) Gaastra Racing Team vs Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra. In the deciding race they started at opposite ends of the line, with Radich at the buoy. It was the right place to be and the Dane had built an invincible lead by the time he reached the first mark.

Claims that this is the most enthralling climax to the ISAF Match Racing World Championship are proving well justified – this is the first time the race to become World Champion has gone down to the final day of the final event of the Tour.

Quarter-Final results:

Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 3
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 1

Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team 3
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 1

Jesper Radich (DEN) Gaastra Racing Team 3
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 2

Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 3
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 0

Staffan Lindberg wins AtSea Baltic Match Race

[Source: Baltic Match Tour] Staffan Lindberg, FIN, won AtSea Baltic Match Race today. On second place came Peter Wibroe from Denmark. Both skippers met each other in the final last year and this year Lindberg won over Wibroe. Baltic Match Tour continues with more races in Tallinn 16-18/8 and Helsinki 19-21/8

"We are really pleased with our win today", commented Staffan Lindberg. "Especially since we lost in the finals last year against Wibroe. We have felt we have had an edge with our boat speed throughout the event but we can work more on improving our starts. Fortunately we have managed to shift gear in each race even though some poor starts and managed to get on top of things."

Onboard Peter Wibroe's yacht in the final against Staffan Lindberg. Skogshem, 15 August 2010. Video copyright Persept

Peter Wibroe comments;
- Despite us not winning today we are overall happy with our performance throughout the event. As a team we came here with not enough time for training but we felt we came out ok since day one. In the last final race we got a penalty against us before the start. Even though it ended up not being the issue for us not being able to win today since Lindberg managed to sail really well in the last downwind and secure his lead.

On third place came the world match racing tour sailor Björn Hansen, also one of the initiators to the Baltic Match Tour.

- We are of course not pleased with not winning today but I am very pleased that the teams are having a good time and like this new match racing concept, comments Björn Hansen. For next year we are hoping for stronger winds and I am looking forward to going racing tomorrow in Tallinn.

Results AtSea Baltic Match Race, Stockholm

1. Staffan Lindberg, FIN
2. Peter Wibroe, DEN
3. Björn Hansen, SWE
4. Michele Perris, MON
5. Phil Robertson, NZL
6. Evgeny Neugodnikov, RUS
7. Olli-Pekka Lumijärvi, FIN
8. Keith Swinton, AUS
9. Simone Ferrarese, ITA
10. Mati Sepp, EST
11. Mikael Lindqvist, SWE

Williams, Richard, Hansen and Mirsky advance to the Korea Match Cup semis

To say that the 4th day of the 2010 Korea Match Cup was tough and testing would certainly be an understatement. Not only did the 8 quarter finalists had to face the usual shifty and puffy wind conditions off the Jeongok Marina, the 8 crews got soaked by the pouring rain for the best part of the day. Yet, there was close action aplenty, drama, comebacks and many flags flying.

Ian Williams was the first to advance to the semis, beating Pacé 3-0, Björn Hansen climbed from being down zero to beat Gilmour 3-2, Richard beat Bruni 3-2 after 5 intense races full of penalties while in the battle between the two young guns, Mirsky prevailed over Minoprio, sending the world's top-ranked match racer back home.

The semifinals and finals will take place on Sunday, closing day of the 2010 Korea Match Cup. Ian Williams picked Björn Hansen as his opponent, meaning that Mathieu Richard will have to face Torvar Mirsky.

My apologies for not having taken any pictures but it was really pouring, non-stop during the entire day!!

Ian Williams vs Bertrand Pacé: Williams showed he was in top form already in the first race. After a close prestart, Pacé crashed on Williams' yacht and got a penalty right on the start line for tacking too close. Although the French match racer rounded the weather mark ahead, Williams rolled over him in the first run and led until the finish line. In the second race, Williams had a great start on the pin end, going on the favored left side. He managed to maintain the lead, Pacé had some opportunities but was unable to close the gap.

If anyone had any doubts about Williams, he made sure they were dissipated in the third race. Pacé got off the start line in a stronger position and led the race until halfway down the final run, with Williams close behind. While the French had chosen to cross the finish line at the pin end, Williams had seen the committee boat bias and opted for the right, got ahead of Pacé and beat him by a second.

Ian Williams had no problems eliminating Bertrand Pacé. Jeongok Marina, 13 June 2010. Photo copyright Ian Roman / SubZero Images

Peter Gilmour vs Bjorn Hansen: The first race proved to be very tough for Hansen. He was handed a red flag at the start, so he had to immediately offload it but when executing it he got another one. From there it was an easy victory for Gilmour who stayed on top form in the second race, with a great start while Hansen blew his chances by being early over the line. There was little the Swede could do, Gilmour sailed smoothly, didn't make any dumb mistakes and kept the lead until the finish line.

While it seemed as an easy walk for Gilmour, Hansen was about to stage a formidable comeback, despite the penalties he received. In the third race, Hansen had a good start, stayed ahead but got a penalty in the run downwind for gybing too close to Gilmour. Still, Hansen stretched his lead and scored his first comeback point after offloading the penalty and crossing the line ahead of Gilmour. The fourth race was again about penalties but this time on Gilmour. The Australian got another one in the prestart on a port-starboard incident, handing the race over to Hansen. Gilmour got another penalty in the prestart of the final race but got the upper hand off the starting line. Still, both sailors were handed another penalty each, in yet another close incident in the final run but the balance didn't change. Hansen finished ahead of Gilmour and moved to the semifinals.

Amazing comeback performance by Bjorn Hansen. Jeongok Marina, 13 June 2010. Photo copyright Ian Roman / SubZero Images

Mathieu Richard vs Francesco Bruni: The first of the five titanic clashes between the French and the Italian was won by Bruni after Richard completely missed one of the yellow fixed buoys in the course, driving directly into it and completely tearing his spinnaker. Richard had to retire and hand the first point to Bruni. The roles reversed in the second race and the French match racing champion had a comfortable victory over Bruni. The Italian, on port side, got a penalty in the prestart when his stern collided with the stern of the French yacht. There was nothing Bruni could do and the point went to Richard.

Richard had an average start in the third race and gave Bruni the chance to get ahead. He tried to attack but the Italian sailed flawlessly, winning the race. Bruni started the fourth match strong off the line and was leading at the weather mark but a great comeback by Richard on the run gave him the opportunity to sneak inside Bruni at the bottom mark and force a penalty on him for not giving room. Richard got ahead and managed to keep his lead until the end. The fifth and decisive race was a nail-biting match racing exhibition but despite all the tricks Bruni tried to throw at Richard, the French stayed ahead until the finish line.

Torvar Mirsky was on fire in his races against Adam Minoprio. Jeongok Marina, 13 June 2010. Photo copyright Ian Roman / SubZero Images

Torvar Mirsky vs Adam Minoprio: The battle between the two young guns was a one-sided story. Mirsky prevailed in both races, from start to finish, comfortably winning two points against the world's top-ranked match racer that seemed to be completely out of form. Minoprio finishes a disappointing 6th in the Korea Match Cup.

Damien Iehl wins Open de España after windless closing day

It's a pity when weather conditions don't let you watch four of the world's best match racers battle their way to a trophy but after all that's sailing. You have to accept that there is nothing you can do but wait until there is at least some decent breeze in order to have a fair race.

The race committee did its best and looked for the tiniest indication of decent conditions, far and wide for more than 6 hours but to no avail. Although the forecast yesterday evening was promising, the late-night heavy rain cooled the land and the clouds didn't let the thermal breeze build up. As a result, they were left with no option but call the day off at 5pm.

The final ranking of the event is thus the final ranking of the round robin. Damien Iehl wins the Open de España, having also won the round robin with a perfect 11-0 score. The world's number 2 match racer, Torvar Mirsky, finishes second with 10 victories, having lost his match to Iehl. Finally, Pierre-Antoine is third with 9 victories and two losses to, who else, Iehl and Mirsky.

Open de España Match Race - Final Results
1. Damien Iehl
2. Torvar Mirsky
3. Pierre-Antoine Morvan
4. Björn Hansen

Damien Iehl wins Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 30 April 2010. Photos opyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Björn Hansen wins Open de España Match Race

Björn Hansen and his Team Onboard crew won the Open de España Match Race after a very long day in Calpe with tough conditions that kept the race committee busy trying to keep on top of a breeze that shifted left and right and went from 15 knots to nothing in a matter of minutes. Hansen was a favorite early on in the event. He led the round robins with 8 victories in 11 races, then easily beat Portuguese Alvaro Marinho 3-0 in the quarterfinals. He didn't encounter any problem either in the semifinals where he beat Russian Eugeny Neugodnikov 2-0 before meeting South African Iain Ainslie in the finals. Ainslie won the first race, despite the penalty received in the prestart but thanks to excellent starts Hansen dominated the next two races and won the event.

Our full report with many pictures will be published on Sunday. Our apologies for the scant updates on Friday and Saturday but it was the result of them being very long days on the water and a very slow internet connection.

Björn Hansen and Team Onboard sail to victory against Iain Ainslie in the finals of the Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 26 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Iain Ainslie claims second place in the Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 26 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Björn Hansen and Team Onboard sail to victory against Eugeny Neugodnikov in the semifinals of the Open de España Match Race. Calpe, 26 April 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing