News & Features | ISAF | World Sailing | Official Site : Racing Kicks Off Tommorrow

News

23 May 2006, 01:44 pm

Racing Kicks Off Tommorrow

ACI Adris Match Race Cup 2006

Croatia

The World Match Racing Tour resumes tommorrow with the 20th anniversary ISAF Grade 1 ACI Adris Match Race Cup from 23-28 May, in Rovinj, Croatia. World number one and Tour leader Peter GILMOUR (AUS) will be aiming for an anniversary of his own, with the Aussie looking for his tenth Tour victory in Croatia.

The Adriatic Croatia International Club (ACI) and the Yacht Club Croatia (YCC) have welcomed the eleven skippers who will compete for the ACI Cup and vital points on the World Match Racing Tour.

Heading the list of entries is Australian Peter GILMOUR, who leads the World Tour with the high score of 48 points and tops the ISAF World Match Race Rankings. GILMOUR, who competed at the first ACI Cup in 1987, also is the event's all-time champion, having won five times. He won his fifth last year by defeating Frenchman Philippe PRESTI in an exciting final. A successful defence of the title would be his tenth career World Tour victory but PRESTI will be back again to avenge his defeat.

The World Tour's third ranked skipper, Staffan LINDBERG of Åland Islands, Finland trails eleven points behind GILMOUR and will be hoping to add more points to his tally. The other top skippers on the Tour leaderboard will not be in Croatia but there are four more sailors from the top ten of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings.

ACI Adris Match Race Cup Entrants
(Team - ISAF World Match Race Ranking)

Peter GILMOUR (AUS), PST - 1
Paolo CIAN (ITA) Team Viano Mercedes Benz - 5
Ian WILLIAMS (GBR), Williams Sail Racing - 6
Mathieu RICHARD (FRA), Saba Sailing Team - 8
Evgeniy NEUGODNIKOV (RUS), Lord of the Sail - 9
Björn HANSEN (SWE), Team Hansen - 11
Staffan LINDBERG (FIN), Alandia Sailing Team - 13
Philippe PRESTI (FRA), Luna Rossa Challenge - 17
Johnie BERNTSSON (SWE), Team Semcon - 20
Pierre-Antoine MORVAN (FRA), Extreme Team Morbihan - 23
Dario KLIBA (CRO), Croatia One - 46

After the conclusion of the ACI Cup the World Tour heads to Lake Constance in southwest Germany for the tenth anniversary ISAF Grade 1 Match Race Germany, from 1-5 June in Langenargen.

After Match Race Germany the World Tour concludes its seventh season at the ISAF Grade 1 Toscana Elba Cup - Trofeo Locman, from 11-16 July on Elba Island off the Tuscany region of Italy's west coast.

World Match Racing Tour Leaderboard
(After 5 of 8 Stages)

Pos	Skipper	Nation	ISAF World Match Race Ranking	Team	Pts
1	Peter GILMOUR	AUS	1	PST	48
2	Ben AINSLIE	GBR	32	Emirates Team New Zealand	45
3	Staffan LINDBERG	FIN	13	Alandia Sailing Team	37
4.	Ed BAIRD	USA	3	Alinghi	32
4.	Gavin BRADY	NZL	14	Beau Geste Sailing Team	32
6	Peter HOLMBERG	ISV	24	Alinghi	29
7.	James SPITHILL	AUS	2	Luna Rossa	25
7.	Jesper BANK	DEN	65	United Internet Team Germany	25
7.	Dean BARKER	NZL	12	Emirates Team New Zealand	25

World Match Racing Tour Schedule
(2005-2006 Season)

Stage	Event	Venue	Date
Stage 1	PTPortugal Match Cup*	Cascais, Portugal	19-24 July 2005
Stage 2	Danish Open*	Copenhagen, Denmark	10-14 August 2005
Stage 3	St. Moritz Match Race*	St. Moritz, Switzerland	16-21 August 2005
Stage 4	Monsoon Cup*	Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia	29 November-4 December 2005
Stage 5	Brasil Sailing Cup	Angra dos Reis, Brazil	14-19 March 2006
Stage 6	ACI H1 Match Race Cup	Rovinj, Croatia	23-28 May 2006
Stage 7	Match Race Germany	Langenargen, Germany	1-5 June 2006
Stage 8	Toscana Elba Cup	Porto Azzurro, Elba Island, Italy	11-16 July 2006

* Originally contested as part of the Swedish Match Tour

The World Match Racing Tour is an ISAF Special Event. BMW is a Partner of the World Tour and the Official Car. World Tour sponsors include Sebago, the Official Footwear Supplier, Musto, the Official Clothing Supplier, and Travel Places, the Official Travel Partner.

For more information on the World Match Racing Tour, its competitors and events, visit the official World Tour website - www.WorldMatchRacingTour.com. World Match Racing Tour television programmes may be viewed on demand by clicking on the television icon on the home page of the website.

For all the news on the World Match Racing Tour CLICK HERE.