August 20, 2007
4 minutes reading time
WILLIAMS And CIAN Show The Way
Ian WILLIAMS (GBR) and Paolo CIAN (ITA) showed the way at the ISAF Grade WC St Moritz Match Race on Wednesday. WILLIAMS sailed to a perfect 5-0 record in winning his group round robin while CIAN was close behind, claiming his group with a 4-1 scoreline.
_360.jpg "WILLIAMS And CIAN Show The Way")
Ian WILLIAMS (GBR) and Paolo CIAN (ITA) showed the way at the ISAF Grade WC St Moritz Match Race on Wednesday. WILLIAMS sailed to a perfect 5-0 record in winning his group round robin while CIAN was close behind, claiming his group with a 4-1 scoreline.
It was an ideal day for racing in St Moritz, with bright, sunny skies, warm temperatures and a tricky, gusty breeze, making for challenging racing. A large crowd gathered along the shoreline of Lake St Moritz, congregating at the grandstand built over the water, just meters from the starting line, enjoying live commentary about the racing. The 12 teams were split into two groups of six, with each group scheduled to sail a full round robin on Wednesday.
Group A was first on the water, and following a short postponement racing was soon underway in a building, shifty breeze. WILLIAMS, who said before racing began that it was important not to take any single result too seriously, due to the vagaries of the conditions, showed he needn’t have worried. He sailed all but flawlessly, demonstrating good boat speed and handling and strong match racing skills en route to his perfect day.
Also performing well in Group A was Sébastien COL (FRA), who sits on a 4-1 record, his only blemish being a close loss to WILLIAMS. And just behind was Peter EVANS (NZL) at 3-2, filling in admirably for the injured Jochen SCHUEMANN (GER). Those top three teams in Group A qualify directly for the quarter-final.
Qualifying in Group B, along with winner CIAN, was another substitute sailor, Cameron DUNN (NZL), who is replacing Mark MENDELBLATT (USA). DUNN and Eric MONNIN (SUI) sailed to 3-2 records in the round robin in Group B, to move into the quarter-final.
‘Cameron did a fantastic job, starting the boat really well today, which meant we were always there at the top mark, able to attack down the run,’
said Ed SMYTH (USA), who was working the middle of the boat for DUNN today. ‘We had a bit of luck go our way as well, which you need – this is a tough venue!’
The bottom half of each group, the remaining six teams, will now try their luck in the repechage tomorrow. These six will say a further round robin, with the top two advancing to the quarter-finals.
Sailors in the repechage round from Group A include Evgeny NEUGODNIKOV (RUS) on a 2-3 record, Michael HESTBEK (DEN) at 1-4 and Matteo SIMONCELLI (ITA) with no wins and five losses. Group B is contributing Staffan LINDBERG (FIN) and Matthias RENKER (SUI), both on 2-3 records along with Mathieu RICHARD (FRA) at 1-4.
Along with a full day for the sailors, the umpires were certainly kept busy on Wednesday, with over a dozen penalties handed out over the 30 matches – just about one in every other race.
Racing is scheduled to resume on Thursday at 11:00.
Results
Group A
Ian WILLIAMS (GBR), 5-0
Sebastien COL (FRA), 4-1
Jochen SCHUEMANN (GER), 3-2
Evgeny NEUGODNIKOV (RUS), 2-3
Michael HESTBEK (DEN), 1-4
Matteo SIMONCELLI (ITA), 0-5
Group B
Paolo CIAN (ITA), 4-1
Eric MONNIN (SUI), 3-2
Mark MENDELBLATT (USA), 3-2
Staffan LINDBERG (FIN), 2-3
Matthias RENKER (SUI), 2-3
Mathieu RICHARD (FRA), 1-4
ISAF Match Racing World Championship Standings
|
Pos
|
Skipper
|
Nation
|
ISAF World Match Race Ranking |
Team
|
Pts
|
|
1 |
Ian WILLIAMS |
GBR |
1 |
Team Pindar |
97 |
|
2 |
Mathieu RICHARD |
FRA |
2 |
Saba Sailing Team |
88 |
|
3 |
Paolo CIAN |
ITA |
3 |
Team Viano Mercedes Benz |
74 |
|
4 |
Sébastien COL |
FRA |
4 |
Areva Challenge |
71 |
|
5 |
Peter GILMOUR |
AUS |
40 |
PST |
60 |
|
6 |
Bjorn HANSEN |
SWE |
5 |
Team Apport.net |
59 |
|
7 |
Jesper BANK |
DEN |
15 |
United Internet Team Germany |
53 |
|
8 |
Ed BAIRD |
USA |
27 |
Alinghi |
40 |
World Match Racing Tour Schedule
|
Stage
|
Event
|
Venue
|
Date
|
|
Stage 1 |
Cascais, Portugal |
18-23 July 2006 |
|
|
Stage 2 |
Copenhagen, Denmark |
9-13 August 2006 |
|
|
Stage 3 |
St Moritz, Switzerland |
15-20 August 2006 |
|
|
Stage 4 |
Hamilton, Bermuda |
10-15 October 2006 |
|
|
Stage 5 |
San Francisco, USA |
24-29 October |
|
|
Stage 6 |
Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia |
28 November-3 December 2006 |
|
|
Stage 7 |
Langenargen, Germany |
23-28 May 2007 |
|
|
Stage 8 |
Marstrand, Sweden |
2-8 July 2007 |
|
|
Stage 9 |
Cascais, Portugal |
24-25 July 2007 |
|
|
Stage 10 |
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.
(2006-2007 Season) (After Stage 10)