World Match Racing Tour - Twist in the tale predicted for finale

by World Match Racing Tour on 23 Nov 2010 World Match Racing Tour's final event is the Monsoon Cup, Terengganu Malaysia from 30th November to 5th December 2010.

With five skippers still in with a chance of winning the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) as the series heads for the final event of the season at the Monsoon Cup, WMRT has drawn comparisons to the recent grandstand finish in Formula 1 which saw four drivers go into the final Grand Prix of the year with a shot at winning the title.

Just as F1 had a sting in its tail with Vettel, who went into the last race in third place, snatching the title, WMRT is being tipped to have an equally dramatic climax at the Monsoon Cup, which is being held at the five-star Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort and Spa in Kuala Terengganu from 30 November to 5 December.

Sailing pundit Mark Chisnell who has watched the action unfold throughout the season has called into question championship leader Matthieu Richard’s preparation saying: 'I was interested to see that he’s chosen to race in Perth just before the Monsoon Cup. Mathieu is very methodical in his preparation, and I’m sure he’s got a plan, but this year his worst results have come in events that followed closely one after another – not a particularly good omen for him.'

While Chisnell believes the race is too close to call between Richard, Minoprio and Ainslie, he has all but written off the chances of Williams and Mirsky adding, 'Even if I was a betting man, I wouldn’t put a pound on it, it’s just too close. I’d only say that it will be Richard, Minoprio or Ainslie – too much has to go the way of Mirsky or Williams for them to come from behind and take it. But after that, it’s wide open.'

Chisnell has also warned of the impact the rest of the field will have in deciding the outcome. With all the skippers having to take part in the Qualifying Round Robin to win their place in the knock out stages no-one is guaranteed a place in the final.

Alluding to the importance of the rest of the teams, Chisnell said, 'They could have a huge impact – last year, it was decided when Peter Gilmour beat Torvar Mirsky in the quarter-finals. Gilly couldn’t overhaul Minoprio to win it by then, but instead, he stopped the man who could.'

With so many permutations and possible final results still to be decided, the following table gives a simple overview of who needs to do what to become the new ISAF Match Racing World Champion:

Skipper	Current Points	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th +
Richard	105	143	135	127	123	120	117	114	111	105
Minoprio	90	128	120	112	108	105	102	99	96	90
Ainslie	88	126	118	110	106	103	100	97	94	88
Mirsky	76	114	106	98	94	91	88	85	82	76
Williams	72	110	102	94	90	87	84	81	78	72

Richard wins the title if he:
• Comes first or second
• Comes third - as long as Minoprio doesn’t win
• Comes fourth or fifth - as long as neither Minoprio or Ainslie win
• Comes sixth or seventh - as long as neither Minoprio or Ainslie are in the final
• Comes eighth - as long as Minoprio doesn’t come in the top three and Ainslie doesn’t come in the top 2

Minoprio wins the title if he:
• Comes first - as long as Richard doesn’t come in the top 3
• Comes second - as long as Richard doesn’t come in the top 5 and Ainslie doesn’t win
• Comes third - as long as Richard comes eighth or lower, Ainslie comes fourth or lower, and Mirsky doesn’t win
• Comes fourth - as long as Richard doesn’t come in the top 8, Ainslie doesn’t come in the top 4, and neither Williams or Mirsky win

Ainslie wins the title if he:
• Comes first - as long as Richard doesn’t come in the top 3.
• Comes second - as long as Minoprio doesn’t win, and Richard doesn’t come in the top 5.
• Comes third - as long as Mirsky doesn’t win, Minoprio doesn’t come in the top 3, and Richard doesn’t score any points
• Comes fourth - as long as Richard doesn’t score, Minoprio doesn’t come in the top 4, and neither Williams or Mirsky win

Mirsky wins the title if he:
• Wins the Monsoon Cup - as long as neither Ainslie nor Minoprio come in the top two, and Richard doesn’t finish higher than eighth

Williams wins the title if he:
• Wins the Monsoon Cup, as long as neither Ainslie nor Minoprio finish on the podium and Richard finishes outside the top eight

www.wmrt.com