Skippers ready to weather tight and choppy race circuit

by Rurrum, K. Terengganu on 2 Dec 2009 The monsoon rains over the last 36 hours has not driven fear into the skippers taking part in the Monsoon Cup which sailed off today.

French Racing Team’s Damien lelh feels he will be over the moon as his team aim to sail off to a spectacular finish in the Monsoon Cup.

“I’ve not seen the lashing rain any heavier than this anywhere in the world but we are prepared for all kinds of everything,” lehl said.

Tactically, lelh said he is taking one race at a time - targeting the quarter-finals and then embark on other variations and strategies to advance further.

'We have to adapt to the conditions here because of the rains, strong currents and frequent changes in wind direction.

'Pulau Duyong is similar to Portugal – humid with similar temperatures and the racing here is going to be very tight,” he said after the skippers’ briefing this morning.

Having competed in five events on the World Match Racing Tour this year, lehl said the team’s best finishes were second placing in Germany, and fourth placing in France and Sweden.

“We’ve been doing lots of training in France before heading to Pulau Duyong and are prepared to give others a good run for their money,” he said while singling out Ben Ainslie, Peter Gilmour and Mathieu Richard as the early favourites.

Victory Sweet’s skipper Magnus Holmberg has no qualms about the heavy rains and said it adds the excitement the team is going to have on the waters.

He described the competition as tactically challenging.

“There’s no steadiness in this course as the winds keep changing directions, the strong tides and rains demand lots of effort from the crew,” he said.

With Ian Wiliams (Team Pindar), Peter Gilmour (YANMAR Racing Team), Adam Minoprio (Black Match Racing Team) and Torvar Mirsky (Mirsky Racing Team) in the line-up Holmberg is not thinking of a dream finish but hopes to pick up a couple of wins in the round-robin races.

For Team Azzurra of Italy, the Ri-Yaz Heritage Resort & Spa provides to most complicated race circuit. “There are a lot of variables and this makes the circuit one of the most difficult and challenging on the World Match Racing Tour,” said skipper Francesco Bruni.

Bruni, with two America’s Cup and Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Olympic Games campaigns behind him, said the team had two good races in Switzerland (fifth place) and Germany (seventh place) this year.

“We are strong but we don’t know how much stronger the other teams are. We are hoping for a podium finish and end the year on a good note,” he added.

The Monsoon Cup is a project of the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports and it is proudly hosted by the State of Terengganu and is supported by key sponsors Richard Mille, TM, Cartrade Group (CTG), Astro, Firefly Airline, and Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort & Spa.

The Monsoon Cup will be streamed live to the Internet throughout the day at www.sail.tv and www.wmrt.org/sailtv. Daily half hour highlights shows will be broadcast worldwide along with short news highlights and key matches. The action will be broadcast Live on Saturday and Sunday between 3-5pm local time. Key networks include Eurosport, Eurosport Asia Pacific, Fox Sports Australia, Fox Sports US, SKY NZ, ESPN Star, Showtime Middle East, America One, SKY UK, Sport Max Caribbean, CNBC Asia Pacific, BT Vision.
For more information or media registration to access high resolution images go to www.monsooncup.com.my
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WMRT 2009 Tour Standings (after 8 of 9 events)

Tour Standings - (After 8 of 9 events)
1. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 100 Points
2. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 88 Points
3. Ian Williams (GBR) Team Pindar 75 Points
4. Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Match Racing Team Racing 74 Points
5. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR 71 Points
6. Ben Ainslie, (GBR) Team Origin 65 Points
7. Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 48 Points
8. Sebastien Col, (FRA) French Match Racing Team 41 Points

About the World Match Racing Tour:
• The World Match Racing Tour is the leading professional sailing series featuring 9 World
Championship events across the globe
• The World Tour is sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) with “Special
Event” status
• The World Tour awards over US$1.5million in prize money
• Points are awarded at each event culminating in the crowning of the ‘ISAF Match Racing
World Champion’
• Events utilize the same “match race” format used in the America’s Cup with racing taking
place in identically supplied racing yachts which places a focuses on team work and skill.
Racing takes place close to the shore for the general public to follow the races as virtual on-
the -water stadiums.
• Media and television highlights coverage reaches over 600 million households in excess of
90 countries around the world

About The Monsoon Cup
The Monsoon Cup 2005 celebrated its debut as the 50th official event of the Swedish Match Tour (now known as the World Match Racing Tour), and serves as the Malaysian leg for the international sailing event. This professional sailing series was formed in 2000 to unite the world's best match-race regattas under one banner.

The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) comprises nine events in nine specially selected locations around the world. As the leading professional sailing series in the world, the Tour events are recognized as must-attend regattas on the match-race circuit.
The Monsoon Cup 2009 will be held at Pulau Duyong, Terengganu, from the 1st to 6th December 2009. Website : www.monsooncup.com.my

For information on the World Match Racing Tour:

Yvonne Reid
Tel: +44 (0) 1590 679613
Mob: +44 (0) 7809 149268
E-mail: yreid@f10marketing.com
Website: www.worldmatchracingtour.com

For more information on the Monsoon Cup :
RURRUM Communications Sdn Bhd
Name : Audrey Lakai
Mobile : 012 309 4377
Email: audrey.lakai@rurrum.com