WILLIAMS And RICHARD Top The Bill

For the fifth year in a row, the Yachting Club de la Pointe Rouge (YCPR) in Marseilles, France is organizing the ISAF Grade 1 Marseille International Match Race from 14-18 March 2007. The 12 skippers invited to take part are among the world’s best, including world #2 Ian WILLIAMS (GBR) and world #3 Mathieu RICHARD (FRA)

Seven of the 12 invited skippers are ranked in the top 20 of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings and no less than eight nationalities will be represented in Marseilles. The duel between WILLIAMS, the current leader of the World Match Racing Tour, and RICHARD, second in the Tour standings, is the latest in a series of clashes between the two skippers and is set to be one of the highlights of the racing in France.

The final skipper is yet to be revealed, as the 12th slot will go to the winner of the ISAF Grade 3 Marseille Y’s Cup, another international match racing regatta organised on the 10-11 March 2007 by the YCPR. The Y’s Cup also promises to be an exciting event, with several highly ranked skippers taking part.

Match Racing Fortnight

Indeed, these two competitions constitute a ‘Marseilles Match Racing Fortnight’. All the more so as the French Match Racing Team will be training in between the two regattas, with the participation of some of the foreign skippers.

The umpires will also be of the very best quality with the Chief Umpire being none other than the Italian Alfredo RICCI, and the Frenchman Gérard BOSSE, deputy Chief Umpire, both of whom are involved in the coming America’s Cup.