Richard vs. Gilmour. Image copyright Tobias Störkle/Match Race Germany.
by Yvonne Reid
The teams competing in the 12th annual Match Race Germany, stage 2 of the World Match Racing Tour, were greeted with glorious conditions today as Lake Constance delivered a beautiful 12 knot north westerly morning breeze for racing to get underway.
Although the breeze steadily eased throughout the day, all 12 of the competing teams at this years event saw action on the water as 24 match races were completed in all.
Making his debut on the Tour was Italy’s Francesco Bruni who was keen to make an impression against the well polished Tour regulars but with an undefeated scorecard and a smile on his face it was clear the first day had made a good impression on him.
“We are very happy and surprised after day one to do so well. However, we appreciate there is a long way to go in the round robin and our feet are firmly on the ground. We will take each match as it happens. This is a very positive period in my life at the moment. I have had a succession of good results. I have just come from the Med Cup where I was tactician on Matador and we won, coming second at the Congressional Cup and fourth at the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series with Team Italia. In addition to this I was blessed with a baby girl five days ago and I am a very proud father. Life is good.”
Bruni was able to extend his lead against two of his competitors today which secured him the wins, however a tight race with the current world number one ISAF ranked match racer, Seb Col, put his skills to the test and he didn’t disappoint, using a combination of good strategy and boat on boat tactics to over come his opponent.
Mathieu Richard and crew in front of Schloss Montfort. Image copyright Tobias Störkle/Match Race Germany.
Mathieu Richard currently number two on the Tour standings and ISAF rankings also faired exceptionally well in today’s conditions, winning four of his five matches. The tenacious Frenchman, who looked solid on the race course all day, will no doubt be looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings for the racing on Lake Constance.
It was a tough day for Sweden’s Bjorn Hansen, who after winning four of his five starts, no mean feat in the assembled fleet, could only convert two of these in to wins. “It was a frustrating and disappointing day and we need to be more switched on for tomorrow” said Hansen.
After the days racing was finished, an upbeat chief umpire Philippe Gomez was pleased with the successful start to the regatta. “Today was a good day and we are expecting similar conditions for tomorrows racing,” he stated.
Results
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Team 4-1
Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar 3-2
Peter Gilmour (AUS) Yanmar Racing Team 3-2
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 2-3
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onboard 2-3
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Joe Fly 3-0
Sebastien Col (FRA) French Team/K-Challenge 2-1
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 2-1
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Team 1-2
Eric Monnin (SUI) Team Search.ch 1-2
Ben Ainslie (GBR) Team Origin 1-4
Carsten Kemmling (GER) 0-3
Tour Standings
(After 1 0f 10 events)
1. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 25 points
2. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 20 points
3. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 15 points
4. Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 12 points
5. Ed Baird (USA) Alinghi 10 points
6. Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team 8 points
7. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza 6 points
8. Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar 4 points
Match Race Germany
World Match Racing Tour
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