May 22, 2007
4 minutes reading time
World Tour Announces Changes To Schedule
Following the Louis Vuitton Cup and America's Cup the top skippers are already preparing for the next Cup as the World Match Racing Tour will continue top level match racing action for the ISAF World Match Racing Championship. Two new events have joined the World Tour in Sweden and Rome.
Following the Louis Vuitton Cup and America’s Cup the top skippers are already preparing for the next Cup as the World Match Racing Tour will continue top level match racing action for the ISAF World Match Racing Championship. Two new events have joined the World Tour in Sweden and Rome.
Team Pindar‘s Ian WILLIAMS (GBR) continues to lead the World Tour with 62 points and is now also the #1 skipper in the ISAF World Match Race Rankings. WILLIAMS is followed closely behind by Mathieu RICHARD (FRA) on 50 and United Internet Team Germany‘s Jesper BANK (DEN) on 45. These three are followed closely by Shoshoaloza‘s Paolo CIAN (ITA) on 41, Alinghi‘s Ed BAIRD (USA) on 40 and Peter HOLMBERG (ISV) on 37 with the 2006 World Champion Peter GILMOUR (AUS) in seventh on 35 points. However, there are 1,100 points still to be won at the next ten events and the points will double for the final event, the Monsoon Cup, Malaysia in December. In addition, all of the World Tour events are Graded WC on the ISAF World Match Race Rankings as the highest level events in the world.
The new schedule sees two new events added to the prestigious series. Match Cup Sweden in Marstrand has rejoined the World Tour under new management by former WMRT President, Pierre TINNERHOLM of Brandspot in association with the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club (GKSS). This event will see the return to the beautiful island of Marstrand just North of Gothenburg. The event boasts &euro100,000 in prize money and has seen over 30,000 spectators per day lining the shores to follow the racing.
Another new event on the series will be the Latium Match Cup, to be held in Fiumicino, Rome, Italy from 11-16 September. This new event will be organized by FD Consulting in conjunction with Circolo Velico Fiumicino. The event is part of the Civitavela, a large International Exposition of sailing offering musical, cultural and sporting events. With &euro200,000 on offer the event ranks second only to the Monsoon Cup in prize money.
Other changes include new venues for both Portugal Match Cup and the Brazil Sailing Cup that move to Troia and Vitoria respectively.
World Match Racing Tour Leaderboard
(After Stage 6)
| Pos | Skipper | Nation | ISAF World Match Race Ranking | Team | Pts |
| 1 | Ian WILLIAMS | GBR | 4 | Team Pindar | 62 |
| 2 | Mathieu RICHARD | FRA | 6 | Saba Sailing Team | 50 |
| 3 | Jesper BANK | DEN | 57 | United Internet Team Germ | 45 |
| 4 | Paolo CIAN | ITA | 2 | Team Viano Mercedes Benz | 41 |
| 5 | Ed BAIRD | USA | 22 | Alinghi | 40 |
| 6 | Peter HOLMBERG | ISV | 75 | Alinghi | 37 |
| 7 | Peter GILMOUR | AUS | 3 | PST | 35 |
| 8 | Sébastien COL | FRA | 1 | Areva Challenge | 33 |
World Match Racing Tour Schedule
(2006-2007 Season)
| Stage | Event | Venue | Date |
| Stage 1 | Portugal Match Cup | Cascais, Portugal | 18-23 July 2006 |
| Stage 2 | Danish Open | Copenhagen, Denmark | 9-13 August 2006 |
| Stage 3 | St. Moritz Match Race | St Moritz, Switzerland | 15-20 August 2006 |
| Stage 4 | Bermuda Gold Cup | Hamilton, Bermuda | 10-15 October 2006 |
| Stage 5 | Allianz Cup | San Francisco, USA | 24-29 October |
| Stage 6 | Monsoon Cup | Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia | 28 November-3 December 2006 |
| Stage 7 | Match Race Germany | Langenargen, Germany | 23-28 May 2007 |
| Stage 8 | GKSS Match Race | Marstrand, Sweden | 2-8 July 2007 |
| Stage 9 | Portugal Match Cup | Cascais, Portugal | 24-25 July 2007 |
| Stage 10 | Danish Open | Copenhagen, Denmark | 8-12 August 2007 |
| Stage 11 | St. Moritz Match Race | St Moritz, Switzerland | 14-19 August 2007 |
| Stage 12 | Latium Match Cup | Fiumicino, Italy | 11-16 September 2007 |
| Stage 13 | Locman Cup – Elba Island | Porto Azzurro, Elba Island, Italy | 25-30 September 2007 |
| Stage 14 | Bermuda Gold Cup | Hamilton, Bermuda | 9-14 October 2007 |
| Stage 15 | Brasil Sailing Cup | Angra dos Reis, Brazil | 23-28 October 2007 |
| Stage 16 | Monsoon Cup | Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia | 28 November-2 December 2007 |
The World Match Racing Tour is an ISAF Special Event. Skippers earn points towards the World Championship at the nine events of the World Tour and the highest scoring skipper at the end of the season is the ISAF Match Racing World Champion.
The World Tour Partner and Official Car is BMW AG (Munich, Germany). World Tour sponsors include Sebago (Rockford, USA), the Official Footwear Supplier, Travel Places (West Sussex, Great Britain), the Official Travel Partner and Wedgwood (Cheshire, Great Britain) the Official Trophy Supplier.
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.