Alpari World Match Racing Tour 2012

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Gyeonggi, South Korea – 30 May, 2012: As the world’s top sailors were welcomed by capacity crowds on the first day of the 2012 Korea Match Cup, Williams, Hansen and Mirsky took the early advantage on the water and finished the day unbeaten in the second event of the 2012 Alpari World Match Racing Tour.

As a Tour Card Holder, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Team Korea White Tiger Challenge finished 4th in the final Tour standings last season and comes to the Korea Match Cup as skipper of hosts Team Korea. Racking up three victories in the first day’s sailing, Mirsky showed that he hasn’t lost his ability amongst the top international match racing field, “I was feeling a bit rusty this morning, it’s been a few months since I’ve been out match racing and we knew there was going to be a bit of pressure on us sailing in the team’s home country.”

“We had a bit of a crash with Peter [Gilmour] but it went our way and I think that the team will get better and better as the event goes on.”

Reigning ISAF Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar carried his impressive form from last season in his first event of the 2012 Tour season, joining Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen and Torvar Mirsky on three wins from three on the first day of qualifying.

Williams, said: “It was a tricky session for us today as we hadn’t had a morning practice with the boat and the conditions were a bit shifty but we settled into it after the first one against Johnie [Berntsson]. They were all close races but I feel we controlled them.

“The local team Gyeonggi and their skipper [Tae-Jung] Kim beat us last year so he was the one we were actually looking out for most. We’ve had a bit of a crew change but all the guys have done a great job today and we’ll look to keep getting stronger as the event progresses.”

Bjorn Hansen also made the most of changeable wind conditions to come through his first three matches undefeated, in the process beating Laurie Jury (NZ) Kiwi Match who was hot off the back of a second place finish at last week’s Match Race Germany. Hansen, said: “We’re looking to make our mark on the Tour this year. We know it’s going to be hard but we should be able to achieve a top three finish.”

“We had a frustrating time in Germany but Korea is a completely different feeling. We’ve always done well here, whereas we’ve never done well in Germany!”

“We won Korea Match Cup last year and finished third the year before so we are confident and to get off to such a good start is great for confidence.”

The second Qualifying Session takes place on Thursday 31 May at 1000 local time (KST). Live coverage and highlights packages will be available online throughout the event, to watch go to http://new.livestream.com/WorldMRT.

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Hansen Retains Korea Title

Gyeonggi, South Korea – 03 June, 2012: Defending Champion Bjorn Hansen (SWE) fought off stiff competition from reigning Tour title-holder Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar from Mekonomen Sailing Team to win the Korea Match Cup, the second event of the 2012 Alpari World Match Racing Tour.

Hansen began in commanding fashion and managed to establish a 2-0 lead early on, looking a clear favourite to retain his crown. The fight back by Williams then began in the third with Hansen being forced over the line before the gun and having to round the committee boat to start with a deficit which he wasn’t able to make up. Williams led from start to finish in the fourth, levelling the scores at 2-2 to set up a grandstand finish for the capacity crowd at Jeongok Harbour, Gyeonggi Province.

Williams may look back on the first match for one of the defining moments of the tie, as he was forced outside of the committee boat just before the start. By electing to try for the line anyway, he smashed into the committee boat and damaged his own bow, in the process earning an early penalty. The damage resulted in a replacement boat being needed for the remaining races.

The winner-takes-all fifth match started with split tacks off the line which Williams led, building a lead to almost 50 meters before rounding the top mark for the final time. After a shocking spinnaker hoist early on the final leg, there was a renewed sense of belief amongst Hansen’s Mekonomen Sailing Team that they might still have a chance of victory. Hansen split right (looking downwind) early and on coming back together, Williams was still ahead but the gap was closer. A slight increase in pressure on the left hand side of the course now favoured Hansen and as the pair approached the finish line from opposite sides, Hansen dramatically crossed the bow of the GAC Pindar boat, holding his lead through to the finish line to take the win.

Hansen, said: “In that last match, we were 4 lengths behind and saw an opportunity when he had problems with his spinnaker. We put in a fantastic jibe set to get over to the right, probably the best I’ve seen from the guys!

“It was a fantastic feeling when we realised we were going to take it and at one of the absolute best events on the Tour, there’s nothing better.

“We always really enjoy this event and have done well at it over the years.”

Ian Williams: “I can’t say enough about these guys [GAC Pindar teammates], we managed to get the boat moving a little bit better than Torvar’s [Mirsky] in the Semi Final and that took us through that one.

“In the Final, Bjorn just sailed a little bit better than we did today. We always give it the best we can and we led every race in the final. These conditions always allow the following team to get back in it and that’s what happened.

“We’ve come 2nd four times now and we’ll just keep trying to win it until we do.”

Both skippers came into the final on good form, Ian Williams powering through his Semi-Final against Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Team Korea, taking a commanding 3-0 victory for the second consecutive knockout stage, having beaten Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing by the same score in their tense Quarter-Final.

Bjorn Hansen continued his march through his favoured regatta after a close Semi-Final earlier in the day against an in-form Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing, the winner at the recent Match Race Germany. He eventually beat the young skipper 3-2 despite being on the verge of defeat when Robertson led 2-1. Robertson was unable to capitalise on a 40m advantage in a crucial fourth match, carrying a penalty which he completed on the upwind leg but left him with an insurmountable distance to catch up on the final leg.

Robertson won the day’s Petit-Final against Torvar Mirsky, securing third place in the final standings for the event and 24 points towards his Alpari World Match Tour campaign. Robertson, said: “We were very disappointed to lose out in the Semi’s, it was close all the way through to the fifth. In the last match of that tie, we lost out at the start and if you’re not firing on all cylinders, you’re going to struggle.

“Anyone in the final four that doesn’t win is a bit disappointed but we got the better of [Torvar] Mirsky in the Petit-Final so it’s a nicer end to the regatta than it could have been.

“We won in Germany and took third here so it’s a good start to the season for us.”

Mirsky, responded: “We’re happy with 4th for sure, it’s a solid result.

“We wanted to put Team Korea on the podium and just missed out to Phil [Robertson]. We lost out on a few one percenters and against guys this good, that makes a difference.”

The second stage of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour has left Korea Match Cup winner Bjorn Hansen level on 31 points with Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team in the series standings. The impressive young skipper has been a consistent performer on the Tour in his first season as a Tour Card Holder, finishing third at Match Race Germany and adding a seventh place finish in Korea.