Meanwhile in Valencia... James Spithill and Torvar Mirsky train on SM40's

If only I could get closer... It's not every day that you have the final of the Australian Match Racing Championship a few hundred meters off the Malvarosa beach, especially when it's the youngest ever skipper to win the America's Cup, James Spithill, facing one of the young up-and-comers, Torvar Mirsky.

Mirsky and Spithill are in Valencia practicing match racing on SM40's. Mirsky certainly needs some lessons from the world's best match racer as his performance so far this year in the World Match Racing Tour has been substandard while Spithill can always use some monohull training ahead of the upcoming Louis Vuitton regatta in Dubai.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get any closer to the action so I had to rely on photos from the breakwater. The entire Mirsky Racing Team crew is here in Valencia while on the BMW Oracle boat I could spot, in addition to Spithill, Dirk de Ridder and Pieter van Nieuwenhuyzen. The umpire boat was driven by Richard Slater while Philippe Presti was coaching the team(s?).

Does this joint training session mean anything for the 34th America's Cup? Kyle Langford, Mirsky's mainsail trimmer, is also a member of the "17" RC44 crew since a couple of events now. Langford was in Puerto Calero last week when 17, helmed by Spithill in match racing, was crowned RC44 World Champion

I know it's too far but trust me, the final of the Australian match racing championship was taking place on Wednesday afternoon off the Malvarosa beach. Valencia, 20 October 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Mirsky Racing Team leads Bermuda Argo Cup undefeated

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Fiery matches were the flavour of the day, with one race seeing 6 penalties altogether. The victim of the onslaught was America’s rules expert Dave Perry who conceded four penalties for a number of infringements around the track in Group 3’s first race of the day.

“We got a bit of a scare down the first run when Perry’s team got two penalties on us for not keeping clear, but then he tried to go for the kill and carted us too far, so we got a penalty back on him” recalled Graeme Spence.

“When we both gybed back for the mark though it was our turn to attack and we managed to put two more penalties on him the same way he got us, and from there on out it was a pretty straightforward race, but it’s always good to have a few races like that to keep the spectators happy!”

MRT have one race left of the first round, but no matter what the result is they are through to the quarterfinals.

“We don’t have a great track record here” said Tudur Owen who is trimming this week “so it is nice to get through this first stage unscathed. We are really going to have to turn up the heat though if we are going to fend off the other top teams in groups 1 and 2.”

Mirsky Racing Team finish second at Danish Open

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Going into the day Mirsky Racing Team were down 2-0 to the unstoppable Mathieu Richard and his Saba Sailing Team, but with their backs up against the wall they managed to fight back in a nail biting series to win 3-2 and qualify for the final.

In the other semi final, Adam Minoprio's BlackMatch Racing took victory over Team Azzura from Italy in straight sets, so the stage was set for another exciting finals between the two youngest teams on the Tour.

And what a series it was, going to the full 5 matches as the two teams took turns to snatch victory, the last of which went to BlackMatch Racing.

MRT were leading the majority of the final race, but close to the top mark, a left shift came down the course and gave Minoprio just enough of an advantage to cross MRT. From there, they defended their lead and went on to take the trophy.

Danish Open - Final Results

1st Adam Minoprio BlackMatch Racing
2nd Torvar Mirsky Mirsky Racing Team
3rd Mathieu Richard Saba Sailing Team
4th Francesco Bruni Team Azzura
5th Bjorn Hansen Hansen Global Team
6th Peter Gilmour Yanmar Racing
7th Ben Ainslie Team Origin
8th Bertrand Pace Aleph Sailing Team
9th Mads Ebler Ebler Matchracing
10th William Tiller Full Metal Jacket Racing
11th Susanne Ward Team Ward
12th Michael Buckley MB Sailing

Torvar Mirsky undefeated on Day 3 of the Portimao Portugal Match Cup

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Another fine day in Portimao, and another fine day for MRT as they carry on their form from yesterday to win all today’s races.

With unfavourable weather having plagued this year’s Portugal Match Cup, the threat of cutting the format down is looming. This means that the round robin could turn out to be more important than usual, with the winner of the round possibly fast tracking through to the semi finals.

Luckily the slow start to the morning’s racing didn’t have an effect on MRT today as they burst through the gates against Aleph Sailing Team’s French veteran Bertrand Pace. An aggressive start left Pace in the wake of the Australians as they sailed off to carry on their winning spree.

“I guess we are sailing well, but we haven’t quite reached our peak yet, and we are looking to strengthen the way we perform” said MRT’s Welsh pitman Tudur Owen. “I hope we get to sail the quarterfinals tomorrow, because we are really enjoying sailing here this week and want to keep on going as much as we can. It would be a shame to have to cut back on another format this year…”

Torvar Mirsky splits tacks with Bertrand Pace. Portimao, 25 June 2010. Photo copyright Gareth Cooke / Subzero Images

Video: Onboard Torvar Mirsky's yacht in the Korea Match Cup

Onboard Torvar Mirsky's yacht in the race against Bertrand Pacé in the Korea Match Cup round robin. Jeongok Marina, 9 June 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Mirsky Racing Team 3-0 On Day One of Match Race Germany

[Source: Mirsky Racing TeM] After some tough racing in fickle winds, and a little bit of good fortune, the Mirsky Racing Team have finished day one of Match Race Germany undefeated.

A slow start to the day saw MRT stepping on in the 4th flight to race fellow SailRacing representative Magnus Holmburg of Victory Challenge. After three attempts, racing finally got under way in very shifty winds. With a substantial lead off the line, the team extended their lead to put their first win comfortably in the bag.

Next up was Radich Racing Team who fought hard in the close battle for the lead, but with a miscommunication on board, they handed the victory to MRT by sailing to the wrong mark.

The race committee then managed to squeeze in one more race in the dying breeze. MRT faced Team Proximo, helmed by Ian Ainslie from South Africa. The team managed to hold onto a tight lead throughout the race, but a small shift favoured Team Proximo, and they stole the lead within metres of the finish line.

"We thought it was all over because they were so close to the line, but we had one last shot at it, and with a perfectly timed gybe we just squeezed back in front", said an elated Tudur Owen after the victory. "There must have been half a foot in it at the most, but we would have been really upset if we had lost it because we put everything into staying in front, not an easy task in today's conditions".

Mirsky Racing Team finish second at Open de España

Lack of wind results in no racing on the final day of the Open de Espana Match Race, leaving MRT unable to vie for the title, finishing 2nd to Damien Iehl.

After a very solid week of racing MRT were awarded the silver medal when frustrating conditions ruled out any further racing. Light winds plagued the week and unfortunately the race committee could not fit in the format.

"It was tough to finish the regatta with only one loss in the round robin, Damien beat us on count back in stage one and that is the result that will stand for today" said Kinley Fowler, Trimmer.

MRT will now have a two week break before the second event of the World Match Racing Tour, Match Race Germany.

Mirsky Racing Team cruise into semifinals of Open de España

With fickle winds MRT hit the water this morning with 3 races remaining in the round robin. They dominated the prestart to win the first two races.

The third race of the day saw MRT face Frenchman Damien Iehl. MRT lost the prestart but attacked up the first windward leg to force a penalty on Iehl at the top mark. MRT remained on the Frenchman’s tail all around the course until Iehl luffed MRT around the finish mark, rather than sailing directly to the finish as required. An unorthodox call saw MRT awarded a penalty and the match was given to Iehl.

After the race with Iehl, MRT was placed 2nd in the round robin, meaning they would face Michele Perris of Monaco in the quarter final.

MRT regained their composure and went to defeat Perris 3-0 to advance to the semi final.

Tomorrow MRT will race the semi final against an opponent still to be decided.



Results:
MRT Torvar Mirsky def Michele Perris 3-0
Damien Iehl def. Ian Ainslie 3-1
PA Morvan def. Manu Weiller 3-1
Bjorn Hansen def. Peter Wibroe 3-1
9th Mads Ebler
10th Alvaro Marinho
11th William Tiller
12th Eugeny Neugodnikov

The day's only glitch for Torvar Mirsky and his team. Damien Iehl gets them a penalty a few meters before the finish line of the last race of the round robins. Calpe, 30 April 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Torvar Mirsky sweeps Open de España Match Race

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] MRT remain unbeaten on the second day of the Open de España Match Race, with a scorecard reading 8-0.

Racing got underway in a stable 10knot breeze. MRT got off to a rough start against Peter Wibroe of Denmark. MRT received a red flag penalty off the starting line, handing the lead to the Danes.

The team attacked hard around the course to close in on Wibroes lead, the final top mark saw MRT edge out Wibroe and narrowly pass and go on to take victory.

The remaining 5 races of the day saw MRT find their rhythm to go on and defeat their opponents comfortably.

“We had a momentum on our side today which was helpful, all of the races were close but we stuck to our game plan and managed to come out on top today” commented Torvar Mirsky.

Results after day 2
MRT – Torvar Mirsky AUS 8-0
French Match Racing Team – Damien Iehl FRA 8-0
Team Proximo – Ian Ainslie RSA 3-6
Team Onboard – Bjorn Hansen SWE 6-2
Team Synergy – E. Neugodnikov RUS 1-8
Seth Sailing Team – Alvaro Marinho POR 2-8
Wibroe Sailing Team – Peter Wibroe DEN 6-3
Dangerous But Fun – Michele Perris MON 4-5
Full Metal Jacket Racing – William Tiller NZL 2-8
Team Iberola – Manu Weiller ESP 4.5-5
Mads Ebler DEN 2-8
PA Morvan FRA 9-2

Mirsky Racing Team are unstoppable. Calpe, 29 April 2010. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Mirsky Racing Team updates from Calpe

The late inclusion of the Mirsky Racing Team into the Open de España Match Race in Calpe, Spain will provide the team with invaluable training for the upcoming World Tour season.

The team finished a disappointing 8th place in the opening event of the WMRT, Match Race France. They will look to this event to train for the upcoming series of events which include; Match Race Germany, Korea Match Cup, Portugal Match Cup and Match Cup Sweden.

The Spanish event promises to be tough with fellow tour card holder Bjorn Hansen using the same opportunity to train.

This week MRT will have Torvar Mirsky, Kyle Langford, Kinley Fowler and newcomer Jakob Gustafsson from Black Swan Racing on the bow.

"The event will be sailed in Tom28 class yachts, which are quite small and manoeuvrable, this will surely sharpen out our boat handling and we are looking forward to getting back out on the water after a week off since France" said Trimmer Kinley Fowler.

Racing gets underway tomorrow at 11am local time, Predict Wind is forecasting light winds for the next few days which will test the teams strategically.

PredictWind Announces Partnership With the Mirsky Racing Team

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] As the level of the World Match Racing Tour steps up, the Mirsky Racing Team needs all the help they can get to take out this year's title.

Thats why the team at PredictWind have come on board with the Mirsky Racing Team to give them the winning edge no matter where they are in the world. PredictWind offers very accurate forecasts at a much higher resolution than other weather agents, giving hourly predictions in localised areas of up to one square kilometre.

"The accuracy of PredictWind's forecasts is going to help us get on top of our competitors" says the Mirsky Racing Team's tactician Kyle Langford "because we sail in some fairly obscure locations where the wind changes regularly, and having them onboard is going to keep us one step ahead of the other teams out there. We couldn't be happier with PredictWind behind us this year."

With its ease of use and proven track record, PredictWind is the choice of Mirsky Racing Team, and many other champion sailors. To learn more about their product, please visit www.predictwind.com

Mirsky Racing Team go trough to the Match Race France QF on top of the leaderboard

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] After a long day on the water,, with seven races remaining in the round this morning, MRT stepped up to the plate and performed, dropping only two races against the two teams from Italy – Francesco Bruni’s Team Azzura and Team Italia skipperedby Paolo Cian.

With 7 of the best teams to choose from, MRT’s skipper selected to race Francesco Bruni in the first to three quarter finals.

"Obviously it was a very hard choice for us", said Kinley Fowler who has stepped in as the coach for this week, "but after studying all of the teams throughout the week I think we are best suited to Francesco’s style in these boats. Don’t get me wrong, they are amazingly talented sailors and it will be very tough, but hopefully we have made the right choice."

With Marseille playing host to all varieties of weather, tomorrow’s forecast is as easy to predict as the results of the quarter finals. Almost anything could happen.

Torvar Mirsky ends the round robin in perfect form. Marseille, 9 April 2010. Photo copyright Brendon O'Hagan/Subzero images

Great start for Mirsky Racing Team at Match Race France

Mirsky Racing Team hit the ground running in the opening event for the 2010 World Match Racing Tour, cementing 4 wins from 4 races in adverse conditions at Match Race France.

Match Race France, being held from Marseille, is known to be a tough regatta, with predominately strong Mediterranean winds, which keeps the worlds best match racers on edge.

The Mirsky Racing Team consists of the same members who finished runner up in the 2009 World Match Racing Tour, Torvar Mirsky of Australia (Helm), Kyle Langford of Australia (Main), Kinley Fowler of New Zealand (Trim), Tudur Owen of Wales (Pit) and Graeme Spence of Australia (Bow), whom all have the determination to go one better in 2010.

“It's great to start the 2010 WMRT, we have had a 4 month break since the finale in Malaysia and all we have been thinking about is getting back out on the water. Marseille is a tough venue, we are happy to come up with 4 wins today, in all of those races we came from behind to take victory, which is a boost in confidence. We still have to iron out some of the creases but it’s a solid start so far,” said Torvar Mirsky.

Mirsky beats Barker and Minoprio on day 2 of Omega Auckland regatta

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] The second day of the Auckland Omega Match Race sees Mirsky Racing Team end the day with a scorecard of 5-5.

After an average first day, MRT hit the water firing beating their World Champion rivals of Adam Minoprio and his Blackmatch crew. An intense prestart saw Blackmatch awarded a penalty but take the advantage off the line. A fierce tacking duel saw MRT take the lead but sacrificing their penalty advantage after a close leebow tack where the penalties were equalised.

Once MRT were given the lead they extended and comfortably defeated their Kiwi opponents.

Making the most of racing world class competition, MRT went into their next race against Team New Zealand trying to mix it with the best.

After a tight prestart which saw the advantage go to MRT they held their nerve around the course to extend their lead and comfortably beat Dean Barker by 25seconds in the blustery conditions.

Racing was then called off for the rest of the day with the wind consistently blowing over 25 knots.

Tomorrow will see the remainder of the second round robin completed and racing promises to be exciting as everyone battles to qualify for the semi finals.

Mirsky Racing Team’s tactician Kyle Langford Steers to Victory in Perth

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Mirsky Racing Team’s tactician Kyle Langford of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia won the Colin Mullins Youth Match Racing regatta in Perth this week.

MRT who just came off a Silver Medal in the ISAF Match Racing Worlds chose to put Langford’s entry into the Colin Mullins and Warren Jones to build up his tactical awareness. However he went on to surprise many as the CYCA crew of fellow MRT member Kinley Fowler, his brother Mark Langford, World 49er Champion Iain Jensen, and Tom Scardifield breezed through the series, only dropping two races in the round robin series.

Having only steered one match racing regatta some years ago, Langford improved vastly as the series went on, and by the time it came to the finals against host club RFBYC’s Peter Nicholas, the team weren’t making many mistakes.

“The racing was really close throughout the series and we got all sorts of conditions. The finals were raced in close to 40 knots which got pretty hairy at times, but it was all really good practise for us going into the Warren Jones this week. The competition is going to really heat up, but we will be looking to finish strong” said Langford as he looks forward to the coming week’s racing.

The Warren Jones starts on the 1st of February, being raced out of Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club in Perth.

Kyle Langford sails to victory in the Colin Mullins Youth Match Racing regatta. Perth, 31 January 2010. Photo copyright John Roberson

Mirsky Racing Team Wins 2009 Sunseeker Australia Cup

Great Britain’s most celebrated sailor Ben Ainslie faced Australian favourite and Perth local, Torvar Mirsky in the finals showdown at the 2009 Sunseeker Australia Cup.

Pride was on the line to return the Cup to Australian waters, after it was won by Peter Gilmore (an Australian skipper) for team USA when the Australia Cup was last contested in 2001.

Ainslie was part of Gilmore’s winning crew in 2001 and had every confidence of repeating the win – this time as the skipper. “I was looking forward to defending my title but failed and am extremely disappointed,” Ainslie said.

Torvar Mirsky sails to victory against Ben ainslie in the 2009 Sunseeker Australia Cup. Perth, 29 November 2009. Photo copyright Sail World Australia

The final was the best of three races with Mirsky overpowering the Great Britain team from the beginning winning the first two matches.

Mirsky led the first match and had good control throughout, playing the wind shifts like a true master and created a comfortable initial win.

In the second match, Ainslie won the start and controlled the race leading by 5 sec at the first mark. Mirsky won a penalty against Ainslie in a luffing dual at the bottom mark creating an opening for the Mirsky Racing Team.

Although Ainslie led around the bottom mark, Mirsky made some nice shifts to get his bow ahead to win by a boat length at the finishing line with the Ainslie yet to complete the penalty.

Mirsky said his team has taken the competition one step at a time. “For us it was not so much about winning but about perfecting our craft. We’re just lucky enough that those steps have taken us to the top,” he said.

"Holding the Australia Cup itself is a huge step forward for our team. There is a lot of personal pride invested in lifting the profile of the sport in our home town," Mirsky said.

"We are extremely proud to win the Aust Cup because it means we are in top form racing against some of the best teams in the world. This gives us a lot of confidence heading into the Monsoon Cup World Tour Championships next week. I think Perth is a great contender for the official world tour, we have some of the best sailing conditions in the world. It’s about time an Australian city played host to the World Match Racing competition,” he said.

Mirsky Racing Team ready for the Monsoon Cup

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] Despite a troubling amount of injuries plaguing the Mirsky Racing Team this season, the young team has bounced back to full fitness, and with the Monsoon Cup drawing ever closer, the young Australians are looking better than ever.

The team has returned to their Yacht Club's home town of Perth, who will be playing host to a number of the top teams in contention for the World Championship title next week in the Sunseeker Australia Cup.

"Our training has been going well" said the team's skipper, Torvar Mirsky "but the Aus Cup is going to be a great chance to measure ourselves against the others before the Monsoon Cup."

MRT is the closest team to Adam Minoprio and his BlackMatch Racing team, trailing by only 12 points. With the two youngest teams in hot contention for the title, the fight in Malaysia is set to be a fierce one. Minoprio's team has a lead that allows them some breathing room, but MRT have been working closely with Greg Kerr, the team's physiotherapist, and recent coaching improvements have allowed them to reflect upon and improve on their mistakes, so you could see a new team in Malaysia.

Mirsky Racing Team celebrate their first victory ever in a World Match Racing Tour event. Troia, 21 June 2009

Adam Minoprio holds on to top spot of ISAF World Match Race Rankings

[Source: ISAF] New Zealand's Adam Minoprio and French skipper Claire Leroy are again unmoved from the top spots in the latest release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings on 28 October.

The top three skippers in the Open World Rankings remain unchanged, with Adam Minoprio (NZL) holding onto the world #1 spot for the third consecutive Ranking release. Australia's Torvar Mirsky (AUS) stays at #2, ahead of Mathieu Richard (FRA) at #3. Reigning World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) returns to the world top five as he climbs two places to #4, with ISAF Nations Cup winner Damien Iehl (FRA) unmoved at #5.


Claire Leroy (FRA) continues her four-year unbroken run at the top of the Women's Rankings. Lucy Macgregor (GBR) maintains the world #2 spot, whilst 2009 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Champion Nicky Souter (AUS) leapfrogs fellow Australian Katie Pellew (nee-Spithill) into the world #3 spot. French skipper Anne-Claire Le Berre climbs two places up to a career-best Ranking of #5.

The next release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings will be on 9 December 2009.

Torvar Mirsky leads on opening day of Argo Group Gold Cup

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Beautiful blue skies and sunshine are what competitors awoke to on day one of the Argo Group Gold Cup. Racing conditions of 5-7 knots presented itself to the eight teams in Group 1 who were able to complete four flights in total this morning.

The first match of the day was between Damian Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team and Reuben Corbett (NZL). At the first leeward mark, Iehl gybed onto port in front of Corbett forcing him to gybe which earned Iehl a double penalty. Ihel then luffed Corbett inside the zone and earned a third penalty for his trouble. Iehl was black flagged and the match automatically went to Corbett. Umpire Henry Menin said “Iehl had two penalty flags and if he had more flags on the boat they would have pulled them out, too.”

“This is the first time I have ever received a black flag, the boats are heavy and hard to manoeuvre” said Iehl.

Torvar Mirsky leads on the opening day of the Argo Group Gold Cup, sailed in very light conditions. Bermuda, 6 October 2009. Photo copyright Bermuda Gold Cup Charles Anderson

Following that display, the penalty flags flew fast and often. In the feature match of the morning, current Tour leader Tovar Mirsky was able to put a penalty on Eric Monnin (SUI) and his Search.ch team. Monnin drew the penalty in the pre-start dance when he was pushing Mirsky away from the line. Mirsky still won the start and held the lead all the way around the course.

“We started well,” the young Aussie said. “It was tough sailing in the light and shifty conditions. We were able to roll some of our competitors downwind to get the wins. In the race against Monnin he couldn’t get far enough ahead of us to make up his penalty turn.”

Monnin made a gallant effort, non-the-less. He came within a boat length at the finish even after making his penalty turn. That loss set Monnin at 3-1 and he had earlier defeated two time world champion Ian Williams.

Despite his loss to Monnin, Williams defeated fellow Brit Robbie Allam after an amazing comeback. “We got a leeward overlap and Robbie didn't keep clear so our penalty got offset. He then gybed in front of us and took control so he got a red flag immediate penalty. So it was great for us being in behind with a penalty going in coming out with no penalty and ahead.” said Williams. He joined Monnin with a 3-1 score card for the day . Group 3 will sail their final three flights of the round robin on Wednesday.

Ian Williams lies second on the opening day of the Argo Group Gold Cup, sailed in very light conditions. Bermuda, 6 October 2009. Photo copyright Bermuda Gold Cup Charles Anderson

Group 2 got off to a slow start and just finished one flight before the wind shifted and went from the 5-7 knot south westerly to about 3 knots or less from the south southwest.

Bermuda favourite Paula Lewin Crews, sailing with an all woman crew, was beaten by Adam Minoprio (NZL) in the first flight when the wind dropped away to a whisper at her start. Minoprio is the top ranked match racer in the world in the International sailing Federation (ISAF) rankings and second on the World Match Racing Tour.

Following that last match of Flight 1, the wind completely failed and the sailors were called back to Royal Bermuda Yacht Club to wait for the wind to come back. The committee had hoped to get in four flights for each group on the first day but the wind gods wouldn’t cooperate.

The sailors will have their skipper’s meeting one hour earlier on Wednesday at 07.00hrs and sailing is scheduled to start at 08.00hrs. Organizers are keen to finish four flights for all three groups before foul weather is expected with a front late Wednesday and into Thursday pushes through.

Mirsky Racing Team tops WMRT leaderboard; 2nd on ISAF rankings

[Source: Mirsky Racing Team] MRT had a strong start to the season with a 3rd place in the Marseille Match Race followed by two disappointing results in both Germany and Korea. They bounced back at the Portugal Match Cup however, and MRT secured their first World Tour victory.

"That win was amazing, we had been working towards it for such a long time and it was such a good feeling to finally get our first win on the Tour" said tactician Kyle Langford.

The next event, Match Cup Sweden saw MRT fasttrack to the quarterfinals, only to be knocked out by Frenchman Sebastian Col as he went through to make it to the final.

Torvar Mirsky finishes second in Danish Open and becomes the new leader of the World Match Racing Tour. Aarhus, 12 September 2009. Photo copyright Per Heegaard

Hungry for a good performance after a two month break, MRT were keen to show their enthusiasm as they came out to win the round robin in the Swiss Alps and again fasttracked a stage of the competition.

Keen to avenge their loss in Sweden they defeated another Frenchman, Philipe Presti to make their second final of the year. Unfortunately the rematch of the Portugal final against the young Kiwi's of BlackMatch Racing didnt go their way, and they placed second.

Only days later in Denmark and down a crew member, the guys put in another solid performance to finish second and for the first time lead the World Match Racing Tour.

A star studded line up saw Mascalzone Latino's helmsman Jes Gram Hansen clinch victory over the youngest team on the tour with an average age of 23 years old, more than 20 years younger than that of Australian yachting legend, Peter Gilmours crew.

In the past four World Match Racing Tour events MRT has made three finals and go into the next event, the Bermuda Gold Cup as one of the favourites.

"A good result in Bermuda will help us as we go into the final event in Malaysia. The points at the top of the leaderboard are so tight so the Monsoon Cup is really going to be an exciting finale of the 2009 World Tour" Mirsky went on to say.

Always a tricky event, Bermuda has 24 teams and always sees new teams rise up and knock out some of the heavy weight teams which will no doubtably make the finale in Malaysia one to watch out for.