Stena Match Cup 2011 - World Match Racing Tour heads to Sweden

by World Match Racing Tour on 1 Jul 2011 Stena Match Cup Sweden 2011 is the fifth stage of the World Matching Racing Tour. Racing takes place from 4th to 10 July.

The World Match Racing Tour is hurtling towards the business end of the competition as racing heads to Sweden. The first four events saw four different winners, and with only four more stages left to the Tour the action couldn’t be closer with just 28 points separating second and tenth positions on the overall leaderboard.

The fifth stage of the Tour, held on the picturesque waters of Marstrand Fjord, will for the first time this season see all nine Tour Card Holders – plus five more teams – go head to head in pursuit of the Stena Match Cup Sweden title.

A host of all-female Olympic hopefuls will also descend on Marstrand for the Stena Match Cup Sweden women’s competition. Raced in Elliot 6m yachts, the same design used for women’s match racing at the Olympic Regatta, the Stena Match Cup Sweden presents the perfect opportunity for some of the world’s top female sailors – including British world number one Lucy Macgreogor – to practice.

As the results so far this season prove, at this halfway stage the World Match Racing Tour is still anyone’s game. One Tour Card Holder looking to score his first podium finish of the season is 2010 Stena Match Cup Sweden runner up Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners. However the Dane knows that with such a high caliber of teams competing a result will be by no means easy.

'This season has proven that there is no easy way to get good results,' Radich said. 'We had a good season last year so this year we’ve performed a little below our expectations but that has made us even more determined and eager to get some good results from here on in. We are a very ambitious team and unless we win we’re not 100 per cent happy but we also realise there are very strong teams on the Tour. Now is the time for us to focus, raise our game and come home from Sweden with a result.'

With a 23-point cushion at the top of the Tour leaderboard Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing is the form skipper going into the Stena Match Cup Sweden, having made the finals of the past three events including a win at Match Race Germany. However, hot on his heels will be fellow event winners Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team, Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team and Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar, along with second-placed Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing.

Sweden’s own Johnie Berntsson is hoping to capitalise on his home advantage and continue building on the momentum he recently gained in Portugal.

Berntsson, currently ranked tenth overall, said: 'We are looking to do well in Sweden. We’ve kept improving throughout the competition so far, and step by step we’ve been gaining more confidence. We’re stepping up in our results and now we’re in our home arena and have the support from the public so that will give is a good boost.'

Known for usually sitting near the top of the pack Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat and Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team, are perhaps further down the leaderboard than they wish sitting 36 and 38 points behind Bruni. Joining the Tour Card Holders is Sweden’s own Mattias Rahm (Stena Bulk Sailing Team) who, with an event win under his belt from 2008, will be no pushover. Portugal’s Alvaro Marinho (Seth Sailing Team) returns for this third event of the season. Australia’s Keith Swinton (Black Swan Racing) and Denmark’s Rasmus Viltoft (Team Viltoft) complete the lineup.

Located in the stunning setting of Marstrand, Stena Match Cup Sweden attracts more than 100,000 spectators every summer and there is a wealth of entertainment away from the main racing. With activities on hand for both children and adults Marstrand also boasts world class restaurants, night life, seminars and live streaming of the sports on radio, big screens and the internet. The setting is not only popular with tourists but also with sailors.

'Marstrand is probably one of the best places in the world for match racing,' Jesper Radich added. 'When the Western sea breeze comes in it’s really fantastic. I don’t really know anywhere else that has extremely good racing conditions and is able to show racing to spectators in such a spectacular way.'

For those watching from around the globe keep an eye on the WMRT website for live streaming of racing as well as daily highlight shows to stay up to date with all the action from Sweden.

2011 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings (After Stage 4)
1 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing – 81pts
2 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing – 58pts
3 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar – 46pts
4 Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team – 45pts
5 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat – 45pts
6 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team – 43pts
7 Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners – 40pts
8 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team – 35pts
9 Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing – 31pts
10 Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team – 30pts

Full list of teams for Stena Match Cup Sweden
Open class:
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) – Berntsson Sailing Team
Francesco Bruni (ITA) – Bruni Racing
Peter Gilmour (AUS) – YANMAR Racing
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) – Mekonomen Sailing Team
Damien Iehl (FRA) – French Match Racing Team
Alvaro Marinho (POR) – Seth Sailing Team
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) – The Wave Muscat
Jesper Radich (DEN) – Adrian Lee & Partners
Mattias Rahm (SWE) – Stena Bulk Sailing Team
Mathieu Richard (FRA) – French Match Racing Team
Phil Robertson (NZL) – WAKA Racing
Keith Swinton (AUS) – Black Swan Racing
Rasmus Viltoft (DEN) – Team Viltoft
Ian Williams (GBR) – Team GAC Pindar

Women’s class:
Lucy Macgregor (GBR) Match Race Girls
Anna Kjellberg (SWE) Team Anna
Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN) Match Race Team
Ekaterina Skudina (RUS) Yacht Russia
Trine Abrahamsen (DEN)
Claire Leroy (FRA) Mermaid Sailing Team
Nicky Souter (AUS)
Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) Team Tunnicliffe
Caroline Sylvan (SWE)
Mandy Mulder Stena Match Cup Sweden World Match Racing Tour website