TEAMORIGIN's Ben Ainslie. Image copyright onEdition/World Match Racing Tour.
by Eberhard Magg
Ben Ainslie (GBR) of TEAMORIGIN is the most successful Olympic Sailor of his generation. From May 27th to June 1st, the British sailor and his TEAMORIGIN crew will be the most prominent starter of the 12th edition of Match Race Germany sailed in front of the promenade of Langenargen on the waters of Lake Constance. Ainslie will challenge a further 11 high calibre teams to a duel at the traditional and renowned German Match Race Classic. Amongst them will be the world number 1 ISAF ranked match racer Sebastien Col (FRA) of French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge.
With 3 gold medals, Ben Ainslie is aiming to climb the throne in the all-time hall of fame of Olympic sailors. In 2012 at the London Olympic Games he hopes to compete for his 4th Gold medal. Having also won a Silver medal in 1996 the Finn Dinghy sailor could beat the unbroken record (4 Gold Medals in a row) of the legendary Dane Paul Elvström and set course for sailing immortality. Nobody doubts that with the chance to win a 4th Gold on home turf, the extraordinary sailor will achieve his goal. Until then, the “James Bond of the 7 Oceans” wants to sharpen his skills in Match Racing and the America’s Cup as Skipper of the British TEAMORIGIN.
For Germany’s Tour stop, the 32 year old British Superstar wants to deliver a good result, marking his start into the Tour Season: "Lake Constance is a pretty challenging venue as the wind is often light and always changing so you have to be very aware. The MRG will be our first event on the Tour this season and so we would like to try and start with a good event”, said Ainslie.
The 1.85 m tall Pro Sailor, who along with Jochen Schuemann (GER) and Valentin Mankin (RUS) is ranked second in the all time list of best Olympic Sailors. Ainslie describes Schuemann and Elvström as “Sailing Heroes, and the source of my inspiration”. He is so passionate about the sport of sailing that he describes it as “my life and my motor to get up every morning.” He looks forward to visiting Match Race Germany for the second time, his first appearance being back in 2005 with Emirates Team New Zealand. “The event is always well organised and we look forward to the challenges we will face in Langenargen”, Ainslie said.
In the ISAF World Ranking List, the 11 times World Champion is currently ranked 53rd, but has set the goal together with his TEAMORIGIN to make it to the top 10 in the coming months.
To achieve this goal, the 3 times Rolex ISAF World Sailor of the year will have to beat some heavyweights of Match racing first. Besides Seb Col’s French Match Racing Team/K Challenge, he will come up against names like Adam Minoprio, the shooting star from New Zealand, and his ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing team, who recently won the inaugural Event of the World Tour in Marseille. Minoprio beat sailing giant Ed Baird of Alinghi and 2007 Match Race Germany winner Paolo Cian on his way to victory in France. Amongst the pre race favourites on Lake Constance are Mathieu Richard and his French Match Racing Team/Team French Spirit as well as Australian Torvar Mirsky, another up and coming young star from last year who earned himself a Tour card.
“We are more than happy about the calibre of the early entries into the 12th edition of Match Race Germany” said co-organiser Eberhard Magg, who, along with his long term partner Harald Thierer, vouches for the fact that the only German Tour stop and Sailing Grand Prix is considered a fixed star in the match race firmament.
In Langenargen the race for prestige, Tour ranking points, $50,000 prize money and world ranking points, will be sailed in the Bavaria Match 35 from Bavaria Yachtbau. The duels will be very close to shore where last year an event record of over 40,000 spectators saw the action in the natural arena of Langenargen, a figure that the organisers hope to top once again in 2009. “This overwhelming interest is motivation enough for us to keep on working on our Sail and Tainment system we established over 7 years ago in order to present world class sport with high tension and fun to our visitors on site”, said Harald Thierer.
Match Race Germany and the 9 other Tour stops are outstanding events in the world of match racing and are the breeding ground for future America’s Cup talent. The Yacht Club Langenargen e.V. is once again organising the racing, led by president Michael Nöltge and PRO Rudi Magg.
World Match Racing Tour
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