GILMOUR And PST Complete Another Remarkable Season

Peter GILMOUR (AUS) won the fifth annual ISAF Grade 1 Locman Cup – Elba Island in Italy, defeating Ian WILLIAMS (GBR) in the final.

He and PST crewmembers Rod DAWSON, Christian SCHERRER, Kazuhiko SOFUKU and Yasuhiro YAJI added the event title to their previously won World Match Racing Tour Championship and ISAF Match Racing World Championship title.

Peter GILMOUR and his PST crew earned nearly $120,000 in prize money between the event and the World Tour, including a new BMW X3, and gold medals from ISAF. Last season the team won nearly $180,000 at the final event.

‘I felt on the money today,’ said the 46 year old GILMOUR.

Fourth World Title

GILMOUR clinched his third consecutive Tour Championship and fourth ISAF Worlds last month at the ISAF Grade 1 Match Race Germany. The World Tour and ISAF joined forces earlier this year to award the two championships in conjunction. Besides winning the past two Tour championships, GILMOUR previously won the ISAF Worlds in 1990, 1997 and 1998.

‘The decision was taken unanimously that the World Championship should be a Tour Championship,’ said Nucci Novi CEPPELLINI, ISAF Vice-President from Italy. ‘A Tour can define a champion better.’

On Elba Island, GILMOUR said he had been struggling all week with a sore back, which left him out of sorts on Saturday when he was nearly upended in the semi-final round. But a night of rest and trademark superb boat handling from his long time crew helped right his ship.

The PST crew defeated upstart WILLIAMS, Williams Sail Racing, 2-1 in the final. It was GILMOUR‘s eleventh career victory on the World Tour, and he said it did not come easily.

GILMOUR Has High Praise For Fellow Finalist

‘Beating Ian was as tough as beating Russell [COUTTS (NZL)] or Ed [BAIRD  (USA)],’ GILMOUR said, referring to his seasoned rivals. ‘He’s an outstanding sailor. He’s going to beat us one day.’

WILLIAMS was disconsolate upon hitting the dock. As the crew put the boat away, WILLIAMS sat alone in the back of the cockpit holding his head in his hands.

WILLIAMS, 29, had been the star of the week, putting forth his best effort in his first year on the Tour. He won the round robin with a 12-2 record, including two victories over GILMOUR, breezed through the semis and believed he could beat GILMOUR. In the end, he learned the value of experience.

‘The way he approaches the final, you have to be significantly better to finish him off,’ said WILLIAMS. ‘His experience allows him to get the best of what he’s got.’

WILLIAMS Takes World Silver Medal

WILLIAMS had little to be ashamed of. His second place finish, coupled with Staffan LINDBERG (FIN) placing fourth, meant that Williams Sail Racing finished second in the World Championship for the year. He entered the regatta in fifth place, six points behind LINDBERG, but wound up two points ahead of his Finnish rival.

‘That was our goal coming in, to get the silver medal,’ WILLIAMS said. ‘Second’s not bad in your first full year on the Tour.’

LINDBERG and his Alandia Sailing Team dropped to third overall in the world championship, but won $12,500 from the Tour and bronze medals from ISAF. The Finn has been having troubles with crew consistency, which he intends to sort out for next year. He finished fourth in the regatta and won 9,000&euro (approx. $11,000).

DUNN Grabs Third

Cameron DUNN (NZL), Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team, placed third in the event after winning the petite-final 2-0 over LINDBERG. DUNN, sailing in just his tenth match race regatta as a skipper, finished with a 16-7 record and won 10,000&euro (approx. $12,600) of the event prize purse.

The rest of the World Championship was filled by skippers who did not compete at Elba.

Denmark’s Jesper BANK, skipper of United Internet Team Germany, won a tiebreaker with England’s Ben AINSLIE, a member of Emirates Team New Zealand, for fourth and fifth.

American BAIRD, a helmsman for Alinghi and last year’s Tour runner up, won a three way tie for sixth. BAIRD finished with 32 points and placed sixth ahead of Gavin BRADY, the New Zealand skipper of the Beau Geste Sailing Team, and Frenchman Thierry PEPONNET, a member of Areva Challenge.

Locman Cup – Elba Island Results

Final

Peter GILMOUR (AUS) d. Ian WILLIAMS (GBR), 2-1

Petite-Final

Cameron DUNN (NZL) d. Staffan LINDBERG (FIN), 2-0

Semi-Finals

Peter GILMOUR (AUS) d. Cameron DUNN (NZL), 3-2
Ian WILLIAMS (GBR) d. Staffan LINDBERG (FIN), 3-1

Round Robin

1. Ian WILLIAMS (GBR), Williams Sail Racing, 12-2
2. Peter GILMOUR (AUS), PST, 12-2
3. Cameron DUNN (NZL), Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team, 10-4
4. Staffan LINDBERG (FIN), Alandia Sailing Team, 6.5-7
5. Ian AINSLIE (RSA), Team Shosholoza, 5-9
6. Thierry PEPONNET (FRA), Areva Challenge, 5-9
7. Pierre MAS (FRA), China Team, 3-11
8. Giovanni SEGNINI (ITA), Locman Sailing Team, 2-12

Locman Cup – Elba Island Final Standings

1. Peter GILMOUR (AUS), PST
2. Ian WILLIAMS (GBR), Williams Sail Racing
3. Cameron DUNN (NZL), Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia
4. Staffan LINDBERG (FIN), Alandia Sailing Team
5. Ian AINSLIE (RSA), Team Shosholoza
6. Thierry PEPONNET (FRA), Areva Challenge
7. Pierre MAS (FRA), China Team
8. Giovanni SEGNINI (ITA), Locman Sailing Team

For all the news on Locman Cup – Elba Island CLICK HERE.

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

Pos	Skipper	Nation	ISAF World Match Race Ranking	Team	Pts
1	Peter GILMOUR	AUS	1	PST	113
2	Ian WILLIAMS	GBR	5	Williams Sail Racing	63
3	Staffan LINDBERG	FIN	12	Alandia Sailing Team	61
4	Jesper BANK	DEN	54	United Internet Team Germany	45
5	Ben AINSLIE	GBR	22	Emirates Team New Zealand	45
6	Ed BAIRD	USA	6	Alinghi	32
7	Gavin BRADY	NZL	36	Beau Geste Sailing Team	32
8	Thierry PEPONNET	FRA	75	Areva Challenge	32

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 Adris Match Race Cup	Rovinj, Croatia	23-28 May 2006
Stage 7	Match Race Germany	Langenargen, Germany	1-5 June 2006
Stage 8	Locman Cup – Elba Island	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. 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 Champion wins a BMW X3 3.0i from World Tour partner BMW AG and a $30,000 cash bonus from the World Tour.

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 – http://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.