WMRT Monsoon Cup - Minoprio, Alpari Racing Team ready for battle

by Leigh Ireland on 28 Nov 2012 2012 Monsoon Cup wildcard Adam Minoprio has confirmed that he will lead the newly-formed Alpari Racing Team at the closing event of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour next month, and expects his team to be back to their Championship-winning best, seven years after their first outing in Malaysia.

Minoprio (NZL) Alpari Racing Team won the Tour in 2009 and has since embarked on a Volvo Ocean Race with Camper Team New Zealand, returning this year for two Tour events. An invite to compete at the Monsoon Cup was a welcome surprise for Minoprio, who has now reformed his old crew. He said: 'It’s great for the guys to be back together and competing as the Alpari Racing team for the Monsoon Cup. We’ve all been apart for two years, fighting to make it at our own projects but it’s great to be back at an event we first cut our teeth at seven years ago.

'Everyone has moved along in different directions in their sailing careers so whilst it’s a challenge to reunite, we’ll work hard to get back to the top level as quickly as possible and I’m sure we’ll have more fun out there than anybody. First and foremost we’re good friends and I’m stoked that we can get back together and take on the world’s best at the Monsoon Cup.'

One of the key factors in Minoprio’s previous Championship success, as is the case for so many teams, was a consistent crew. He was missing his full team at the recent Match Race France and Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda, where he finished 11th and fifth respectively. Minoprio will welcome the return of 'Tom Powrie trimming the jib, Dave Swete in the middle, Nick Blackman on the bow with Chris Main coming in for the first time' at the Monsoon Cup.

Minoprio also believes that a successful Monsoon Cup will give him the perfect platform to launch another challenge for the ISAF Match Racing World Championship title, saying: 'We need to perform in Malaysia because it would definitely help to put our case forward for a Tour Card next year. It’s a statement of intent to the Tour that we’re the guys they need to have on the series. We’ll give it everything to get a result.'

Referring to his ambitions to apply for a Tour card once again in 2013, he said: 'The 2013 season is still a while away but I know that there is interest from the guys to sail together again and it’d be good to do another full season as a team. If we can pull together for a challenge on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour, that’s what we’ll do.'

The two New Zealanders on the Tour this season, Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwi Match Sailing Team and Phil Robertson (NZL) Waka Racing will set up a three-way national battle in Malaysia. Minoprio, commented: 'It’s always extremely tough racing against other home nation skippers. It’s been a long time since I’ve raced against Laurie [Jury], who I used to do bow for in the Royal New Zealand Youth Training Programme. And the year after that, I was driving and I had Phil Robertson doing the bow for me. To race against these guys again right at the highest level is quite cool. It’s going to be a fantastic competition.'

The addition of Alpari as his team sponsor for the event is also something very pleasing to 260th ranked Minoprio and the former world number one hopes that a swift return to form will quickly raise his profile, and world ranking back to previous heights. He continued: 'We’re really pleased to have this support from Alpari and it’ll help us to go to the event and do it properly. With some of the finance taken care of, we can focus on sailing.

'Hopefully we’ll get the opportunity to get involved with them onsite too as I’ve visited their Alpari Clubhouse before and it’s a great place to relax when we’re not on the water. I might even give the trading platforms a go. I’m pretty new to Forex but it looks interesting and I know they have tutorials for new traders.'

The Monsoon Cup, Malaysia’s second biggest sports event of the year, will take place on 3-8 December at the Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort and Spa, Pulau Duyong, Kuala Current Standings

Monsoon Cup – Competing Teams:

Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar
Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing
Peter Gilmour (AUS) Yanmar Racing
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team
Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwi Match
Phil Robertson (NZL) Waka Racing
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team
Adam Minoprio (NZL) Alpari Racing Team
Taylor Canfield (USVI) USone
David Gilmour (AUS) Team World Match Racing Tour Monsoon Cup website