Match Racing - Steinlager Line 7 Cup Overall

TEAM NEW ZEALAND'S PACE WINS SECOND STRAIGHT STEINLAGER LINE 7 CUP

Photo © FOTOPRESS/Alan Gibson Pace and Team celebrate winning

Bertrand Pace of Team New Zealand joined Kiwi sailing legend Russell Coutts as the only two time winner in the 22 year history of the Steinlager Line 7 Cup, the fourth event on the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour, hosted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. In the championship final Pace was pushed to the limit and ultimately outdueled Gavin Brady of the Prada Challenge by less than a boat length in the final of a tense, five-match affair. This thrilling climax was a fitting end to a week's worth of exciting match racing.

"It was a very difficult final," stated Pace, champion of the inaugural Swedish Match Tour. "It was a very good fight between two crews coming off four days of sailing together. We matched up very well with Gavin and are happy to have come out on top."

In the first match of the finals Bertrand Pace took the fight to Brady and sailed past the Prada Challenge representative by a ten-second margin. Match number two was much tighter as Pace and Brady battled down to the line with the young Prada skipper outmaneuvering the cagey Pace at the line to pull even at one match apiece. In match three Brady built on the momentum from his prior dramatic win to sail past Pace and go up 2-1.

In match four experience was served as Pace turned back several challenges from Brady to set up a fifth and final match for the Steinlager Line 7 Cup championship.

In the petit final Holmberg and Appleton staged their own battles as Appleton proved victorious to post a third place finish in the regatta. In the process Holmberg claimed 12 points to grow his Swedish Match Tour points lead to 19 points over Pace who picked up 25 points of his own with his first place finish this week.

In the semifinals raced earlier in the day Pace ended an overnight of suspense, when, by virtue of being the top qualifier for the semifinals, he chose teammate Cameron Appleton as his opponent. Pace easily handled his young Kiwi teammate and swept Appleton 3-0 in the best-of-five match semifinal.

That left Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour points leader Magnus Holmberg of Team StoraEnso and the Swedish Victory Challenge to face Gavin Brady of the Prada Challenge. Holmberg won the first two matches against Brady but was unable to seal the deal as Brady battled back to take the final three matches and advance to the final to battle Pace.

In other action on the day Team New Zealand leader Dean Barker defeated Rod Davis of the Prada Challenge for fifth place, Chris Dickson of Oracle Racing defeated Jesper Radich of Denmark for seventh place and Andy Green of the GBR Challenge defeated Jes Gram-Hansen of Denmark for ninth place.

Large crowds gathered throughout the day to watch the completion of the week-long regatta. Light easterly winds moved the day's racing off the shore and out into Waitemata Harbor, parallel to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's hospitality and spectator area on Hobson Wharf.

Spanning the globe, the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour is comprised of eight of the world's leading professional sailing events and is proving to be the ultimate battleground of sailing. In addition to over USD$400,000 in individual event prize money, the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour awards USD$200,000 to the top eight sailors on the Tour. The overall winners are determined by a point system based on a sailor’s best six of eight finishes, with the first-place skipper netting USD$60,000.

Steinlager Line 7 Cup Final Standings:

More Information:

• YachtsandYachting.com Match Racing Page
• www.swedishmatchgp.com