Foto copyright Loris Von Siebenthal / St. Moritz Match Race
Fuente info Maxcomm Communication
St. Moritz, August 23, 2010
Sixth stage of World Match Racing Tour to take place next week in St. Moritz
The world’s best match race competitors will gather to St. Moritz (Switzerland) next week for the sixth stage of the ISAF World Match Race Tour. It will be the eighth edition of St. Moritz Match Race.
Twelve teams representing seven nations will compete for both the prestigious title of “King of the Mountains” and the winning prize money of 150'000 Euros. Amongst them will be Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Match Racing - the current leader of the world rankings, Adam Minoprio (NZL), Black Match - the ISAF World Champion in 2009 and winner of the St. Moritz Match Race last year, and Ben Ainslie (GBR) - the quadruple Olympic medallist and skipper of the British America’s Cup Challenger, Team Origin.
“This is a fantastic line up of top level sailors”, says Christian Scherrer, the President of St. Moritz Match Race’s organising Committee. “All the participants are high end professionals who need to get results throughout the season in order to progress in their career. It will be great for the public, because the races take place alongside the shore and the sailors will be full on: the show promises to be great. I am also very satisfied with the support we have received from our partners because it allows Switzerland to host a world class sailing event on its territory. AFG and Badrutt’s Palace are St. Moritz Match race’s main partners whilst Volvo has joined us as co-sponsor over the spring.”
Also qualified for St. Moritz Match Race, Swiss sailor Jérôme Clerc will make his debuts in the World Match Racing Tour whilst European champion Johnie Berntsson (SWE) will have the opportunity to test his level of form against the world’s best. Both Clerc and Berntsson have received wild cards from the event organisers.
Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Ian Williams (GBR), Francesco Bruni (ITA), Björn Hansen (SWE), Bertrand Pacé (FRA), Damien Iehl (FRA) and Eric Monnin (SUI) complete the list of participants. Winner of Sopot Match Race (Poland) last week, the local sailor and Switzerland’s best match racer Eric Monnin is on great form ; he defeated some of the world’s best in Sopot, including Karol Jablonski, semi-finalist of the America’s Cup 2007 on board Desafio.
St. Moritz Match Race begins on Tuesday August 31 whilst the title of King of the mountain will be awarded on September 5.
Sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) with “Special Event” status, the Tour sits amongst the prestige of the America’s Cup and The Volvo Ocean Race by attracting the world’s best sailors. The epic Tour features 10 World Championship events across the globe, including races in France, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Sweden, Korea, Bermuda, Denmark and China, culminating in November/December 2010 with the high-profile Monsoon Cup in Malaysia.
“The St. Moritz Match Cup marks the turning point in the World Match Racing Tour calendar as we head towards the business end of the competition”, said Jim O’Toole, the CEO of the ISAF World Match Race Tour. “ The stunning location, passionate fans, impressive prize purse and ability to attract the world’s best match racers befits the growing status of the WMRT and is one of the reasons why the Tour has quickly become a global sporting brand. I’m looking forward to seeing the action on the water where there’s still all to play for in the race to become the World Match Racing Champion.”
St. Moritz Match Race participants:
Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team
Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra
Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team
Bertrand Pace (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team
Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing team
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match racing Team
Eric Monnin (SUI) Swiss Match Racing team
Jérôme Clerc (SUI) Team CER Genève
