Korea Match Cup - Reigning champion maintains strong start

by Nicolle Bloomfield on 3 Jun 2013 At Korea match Cup, Ian Williams, reigning Match Racing World Champion, has secured fourth place to maintain his strong start to the 2013 Alpari World Match Racing Tour for Team GAC Pindar.

Having topped the round-robin qualifying stage earlier this week with a 10-1 record, Ian went on to record a 3-0 win over David Gilmour in Saturday's quarter-finals, but lost out in the semi-finals to Mathieu Richard, who went on to clinch overall victory in today's final. Four-times world champion Ian eventually placed fourth overall after the Petit Final, which was won by Adam Minoprio. This result leaves Ian well positioned in the overall standings as he bids to secure a historic fifth world title, following his victory in Match Race Germany last week.

Following the close of competition, which took place off the west coast of Gyeonggi Province, Ian commented: 'There are some days in match racing when things don't seem to go your way, whether it's powerboat chop as you're trying to tack, or a wind shift going against you. I think we had one of those days. I think we sailed fast and smooth, but we made a few misjudgements, especially in the start. Then again we made the Semis, and there are eight other guys who didn't, so it's not too bad, and we're still in the championship. We feel strong here, we feel this is one of the best events on the Tour, and we'll be back next year for at least one more shot at the title.'

Andrew Pindar, Team Principal of Team GAC Pindar, added: 'Ian and the crew may have missed out on victory here in Korea, but they've sailed really well all week against some of the best sailors in the world and are in great form. We can now look forward with confidence to our next event, the iconic Match Cup Sweden event in Marstrand, and it's a good feeling to head there on the back of one victory and one strong placed finish in the first two events of the season.'

With today's result, Ian has led Team GAC Pindar to victory and a fourth-place finish in the first two events of the 2013 Alpari World Match Racing Tour. The next stop in this global series is the island of Marstrand for Stena Match Cup Sweden, taking place between 1 and 6 July 2013.

www.gacpindar.com WMRT website