Locman Cup - Elba Island to host Season Finale

by Sean McNeill on 29 Jun 2006 The eighth and final stage of the 2005-’06 World Match Racing Tour, the Locman Cup – Elba Island, is scheduled July 11-16 on Italy’s idyllic Elba Island.

The 100,000€ (approximately $125,000) event features three of the top five skippers on the World Tour leaderboard, Peter Gilmour of Australia, Staffan Lindberg of Finland and Ian Williams of Great Britain. Event organizers are aiming for a lineup of 12 crews.

The winner of the event will be awarded the Locman Cup and the top team will be awarded the Elba Cup.

The Locman Cup – Elba Island, in its fifth running, will crown its fourth different champion. Gilmour (Perth, Western Australia) has finished runner-up in the past two editions, but stands a good chance of scoring his 11th World Tour victory. The two-time defending champion, Russell Coutts of New Zealand, is unable to attend due to other commitments.

Regardless of who wins, the 46-year-old Gilmour will be awarded his third consecutive World Tour championship and fourth World Match-Racing Championship at the conclusion of the event.

The World Tour and ISAF, the world governing body for sailing, recently joined forces to award the world championship together with the Tour championship. Besides winning the past two Tour championships, Gilmour previously won the ISAF Worlds in 1990, ’97 and ’98.

Gilmour, skipper of the PST crew, secured the honor by winning Match Race Germany earlier this month. He’s 39 points ahead of second-placed Lindberg, skipper of the Alandia Sailing Team. With 25 points awarded for first place, Gilmour’s position is unassailable.

Gilmour will be awarded a BMW X3 3.0i (valued at $45,000) from World Tour partner BMW AG, a $30,000 cash prize from the Tour and the official World Championship trophy.

“The common theme is the depth of team we are,” said Gilmour. “If there’s (Yasuhiro) Yaji, Rod (Dawson) and I, for example, there’s core depth and we can blend in others. Without a doubt it’s in the quality of the team itself.”

Gilmour will sail in Elba with Rod Dawson, Christian Scherrer, Kazuhiko Sofuku and Yasuhiro Yaji. Dawson, Fuku and Yaji are veteran PST crewmembers. Scherrer organizes the World Tour event St. Moritz Match Race (Aug. 15-20) and raced with PST at Match Race Germany.

Others in the field will be aiming to knock off the soon-to-be crowned champion, including second-placed Lindberg and fifth-placed Williams. A scant 6 points separate the two, both of whom are aiming for their best finish on the World Tour.

Spoilers in the field include France’s Thierry Peponnet of the Areva Challenge. Peponnet has competed in three events this season and is placed 14th on the World Tour leaderboard on the strength of a second at the Brazil Sailing Cup last March.

New Zealander Cameron Dunn of Italy’s Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia, Ian Ainslie of South Africa’s Team Shosholoza and Pierre Mas of China Team also look to upset the rankings.

Italians Matteo Savelli and Giovanni Segnini are local entrants competing in their first World Tour event.

The World Tour Partner and Official Car is BMW AG (Munich, Germany). World Tour sponsors include Sebago (Rockford, Mich.), the Official Footwear Supplier, Travel Places (West Sussex, England), the Official Travel Partner and Musto (Essex, England), the Official Clothing Supplier.

For more information on the World Match Racing Tour, its competitors and events, please visit the official World Tour Web site, www.WorldMatchRacingTour.com.

World Match Racing Tour television programs may be viewed on demand by clicking on the television icon on the home page of the Web site.