WMRT Match Race Germany – Difficult first day

by Leigh Ireland on 25 May 2012 WMRT Match Race Germany 2012 first qualifying session kicked off in Langenargen, Germany today, 24 May. Phil Robertson and new Tour Card Holder Pierre-Antoine Morvan made the most of a difficult day’s racing posting three wins from three.

Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team joins the Tour in 2012 with an ISAF World Match Race Ranking of third and a previous second place finish at the St. Moritz Match Race in 2011. He is also being accompanied by experienced coach Bertrand Pacé, who said prior to today’s sailing: 'We’ve just started working together so we are still settling into this relationship. We’ll judge how well it is working after the first couple of events and decide whether it’s something we want to pursue for the full season.

'Pierre is a great skipper and match racer, that’s for sure. However, experience is very important as is confidence which is what we are focusing on most.'

Morvan showed few nerves coming into his first event as Tour Card Holder, even before heading out onto the water, saying: 'The plan is to learn this year, podium next year, and win in two years.' He backed up that self-confidence by taking victory in all three of his early flights.

Jan-Eike Andresen (GER) MRV Match Race Team is here flying the flag for the host nation but has left himself with an upward climb to reach the quarter-finals after losing three from three. A tough opening session against three Tour Card Holders, including four-time World Champion and three-time Match Race Germany winner Peter Gilmour, did not hand him the kindest of days. Andresen can consider himself unlucky in his first race, losing by a margin of only four metres to Robertson.

A second match against Frenchman Pierre-Antoine Morvan also ended unsuccessfully for Andresen after leading for the majority of the race, relinquishing the lead late on in the light air. Reflecting on his day, the German said: 'It was a bit like David v Goliath today as we faced some strong opposition, but we felt we performed well and were a bit unlucky, especially in the first match against Phil [Robertson].

'We are taking confidence from today and looking forward to converting defeats into wins tomorrow.'

The second Qualifying Session starts on Friday 25th May at 0900 local time (CDT). For live updates and Twitter feeds click here. Video coverage of the action will be shown on Saturday 26th – Monday 28th from 1400 – 1600 local time (CDT) and race by race updates can be followed online.

Results after the First Qualifying Session:
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) - Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 3-0
Phil Robertson (NZ) – Waka Racing 3-0
Peter Gilmour (AUS) – Yanmar Racing 2-1
Eric Monnin (SUI) – Team Okalys-Corum 1-2
Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) – Team Trifork 0-0
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) – Mekonomen Sailing 0-0
Karol Jablonski (POL) – Jablonski Sailing Team 0-0
Laurie Jury (NZ) - Kiwi Match 0-0
Staffan Lindberg (FIN) – Alandia Sailing Team 0-0
Keith Swinton (AUS) – Black Swan Racing 0-0
Jan Eike Andresen (GER) – MRV Match Race Team 0-3
Simone Ferrarese (ITA) – Ferrarese Racing Team World Match Racing Tour website