Match Race France at Marseille - Overall
by World Match Racing Tour 14 May 2011 22:32 BST
10-15 May 2011
Damien Iehl takes victory
Damien Iehl and his French Match Racing Team made the perfect start to their World Match Racing Tour season after defeating Bertrand Pace's Aleph Sailing Team in an all French Final at Match Race France in Marseille.
This was Iehl’s second ever victory on the World Match Racing Tour following his win at Match Race Germany in 2008 and his early justification for being awarded a Tour Card for the 2011 season. The victory caps a week in which the Frenchman has been in majestic form, firstly by Qualifying in second position, then defeating the 2003 Tour Champion Jesper Radich (DEN) 3-1 in the Semi-Finals and finally Pace in the first all French Final on the Tour since 2007.
Commenting on his win, Iehl said: “It has been a tense week but to win the event here is perfect. It’s a reward for all the hard work we’ve been doing over the last six years. We feel it’s our time now. We know Mathieu [Richard] won Match Race France last year but didn’t win the Tour so winning it is our objective now.”
Overall Results:
Final
Damien Iehl (FRA) v Bertrand Pace (FRA) 2-0
Petit-Final
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) v Jesper Radich (DEN) 2-1
2011 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings: (after Stage 1)
1 Damien Iehl - 25pts
2 Bertrand Pace - 22pts
3 Torvar Mirsky - 19pts
4 Jesper Radich - 16pts
5 Pierre Antoine Morvan - 14pts
6 Francesco Bruni - 12pts
7 Peter Gilmour - 10pts
8 Alvaro Marinho - 8pts
9 Phil Robertson - 4pts
10 Ian Williams - 2pts