Ian Williams and GAC Pindar triumph at the Royal Southern Match Cup
by Tom Dowler 15 Jun 2015 11:34 BST
10-14 June 2015
Reigning World Match Racing Tour champion Ian Williams won the Royal Southern Match Cup with his GAC Pindar crew despite facing testing competition from promising British and European sailors.
The world record breaking Match Race champion only lost two flights in the regatta on home waters, after storming through qualifying to face fellow Briton Mark Lees in the semi-final.
The lesser experienced Briton put up a fine battle considering his ranking (23rd in the world) to take an unlikely early 1-0 lead. However, Williams and his GAC Pindar crew responded valiantly to win 3-2 and secure a place in the final against Matt Jerwood.
In the final, Williams and his crew used their experience to win 2-0 and claim the Royal Southern Match Cup for the second year in succession and climb to third in the World Match Racing Tour overall standings.
Williams comments: "It was fantastic to compete on British waters on the World Match Racing Tour. I was particularly pleased to see us come through a tough semi-final 3-2 when the pressure was really on."
Williams continues: "The win moves us up the World Match Racing Tour leader board and it's a good confidence boost ahead of the Stena Match Cup in Sweden in two weeks' time."
GAC Pindar Team Principal Andrew Pindar comments: "Ian's decision last year to compete in more match race events outside of the main tour proved a particularly sound move. It reinforced what it takes to be at the pinnacle of this discipline and propelled him to his world record breaking fifth title."
Pindar continues: "The return of this event, back now for its second year and the new tour format gives much more opportunity to upcoming teams and also provides the opportunity for Ian and the other tour card holders to check back in to see how the new hungry talent is performing."
The World Match Racing Tour continues at the Stena Match Cup (29 June – 4 July) in Marstrand, Sweden.