Austrian Match Racing Championship at Velden, Lake Woerther See
by Helmut Czasny 20 Jun 2018 09:31 BST
16-17 June 2018
European Match Race Tour 2018 Austria © 2018 EMRT
Slovenian skipper Dejan Presen storms in the Yellow Jersey towards the 2018 European Tour Grand Final at Montenegro while current World number 10 Max Trippolt secured with a remarkable victory at the Austrian Championship another national title, his fifth consecutive victory. Local match race hero Martin Dittrich completed the podium as third, letting fellow Austrian Helmut Czasny on fourth place.
This year's Austrian tour stop at Velden, Lake Woerther See, close to the Slovenian and Italian border, featured also Austria's national match race championship. The event was raced on brand new Sunbeams 22.1 build by Austrian boat builder Schoechl, a design which fitted well with the Lake's breeze of 6 to 12 knots.
Defending champion Max Trippolt showed right from the start of the end his determination to win the national honours once more, while Dejan Presen's performance reflected his leading position of the European Tour after a victory at the opening event at Sibenik in February and a second place at the following event at Tivat. Both skippers went head-to-head right until the end when Trippolt defeated the Slovenian with a spectacular pre-start performance.
Martin Dittrich who raced these boats successfully on the national sailing league impressed with superior boat speed which lifted him on the third place overall and silver medallist at the national rankings. Compatriot Helmut Czasny who was the national runner-up last year beat Swiss lady Alexa Bezel who left Carinthia on fifth place.
The European Match Race Tour continues this weekend at Swinojuscie on the Baltic Sea, a Polish Match Tour event, which will guarantee top level competition on the water and a spectator friendly programme ashore. Racing will be tight with four teams from the top 15 of the World Ranking list.
All eyes will be on the Grand Final at Tivat, Porto Montenegro, when from 13-16 September 2018 the top 12 teams of the European Tour will challenge for the 2018 Tour title.
Overall Results: (top five)
1 – Max Trippolt AUT
2 – Dejan Presen SLO
3 – Martin Dittrich AUT
4 – Helmut Czasny AUT
5 – Alexa Bezel SUI
The remaining Tour stops of the European Match Race Tour 2018:
- Tour Stop 6 - 22-24 June 2018 - Swinojuscie, POL
- Tour Stop 7 - 31 Aug-2 Sept 2018 – Ravenna, ITA
- Grand Final 2018 - 13-16 Sept 2018, Tivat, Porto Montenegro, MNE