AWMRT Match Race Germany - Ian Williams fights to retain title

by Esther Oon-Bybjerg on 16 May 2013 Ian Williams fights to retain his title to secure an unprecedented fifth World crown as the 2013 Alpari World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT) season gets underway with Match Race Germany.

The 2013 Tour has kicked off with the first regatta of the season on the picturesque Lake Constance at Langenargen, Germany. Ian Williams and his Team GAC Pindar crew will take their place amongst a world-class international field of twelve teams, with Ian hoping to secure his third successive and fifth overall World title.

The AWMRT is the world's leading professional sailing series featuring world-class Championship events across the globe, with six stops on this year's calendar across three continents. Every match race is a duel between two identically matched boats, creating close, aggressive competition, thrilling viewing and some of the most exciting action in world sport.

Ian Williams' preparations have included strong third-placed finishes at the Congressional Cup in Long Beach, California in April and in the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club International Match Racing Regatta last weekend, where the light wind was the perfect preparation for the expected conditions on Lake Constance.

Speaking from Germany just prior to the start of the regatta, Ian Williams said: 'The competition in this year's ALPARI World Match Racing Tour is going to be fierce and we are fully prepared for this to be our toughest fight yet. We're competing against the best match racers in the world, but all of us at Team GAC Pindar are very happy with our preparation, we've been training harder than ever and we can't wait for the racing to get underway.'

Andrew Pindar, Team Principal of Team GAC Pindar, added: 'Ian comes into this event in great form as he and his crew bid to secure a historic fifth World title. The beauty of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour is that every event presents different conditions and unique challenges to contend with. What's more, as the racing takes place between identical boats, the teams know that they'll have to fight for every point and earn every win. This takes tremendous skill, commitment and guts, of which there's no shortage in this year's world-class field, but everyone on Team GAC Pindar is ready to roll up their sleeves and do whatever we can to help Ian to defend his World Match Racing Tour website