Going into the day MRT were down 2-0 to the unstoppable Mathieu Richard and his Saba Sailing Team, but with their backs up against the wall they managed to fight back in a nail biting series to win 3-2 and qualify for the final.

In the other semi final, Adam Minoprio’s BlackMatch Racing took victory over Team Azzura from Italy in straight sets, so the stage was set for another exciting finals between the two youngest team’s on the Tour.

And what a series it was, going to the full 5 matches as the two teams took turns to snatch victory, the last of which went to BlackMatch Racing.

MRT were leading the majority of the final race, but close to the top mark, a left shift came down the course and gave Minoprio just enough of an advantage to cross MRT. From there, they defended their lead and went on to take the trophy.

Danish Open FINAL RESULTS

• 1st Adam Minoprio BlackMatch Racing
• 2nd Torvar Mirsky Mirsky Racing Team
• 3rd Mathieu Richard Saba Sailing Team
• 4th Francesco Bruni Team Azzura
• 5th Bjorn Hansen Hansen Global Team
• 6th Peter Gilmour Yanmar Racing
• 7th Ben Ainslie Team Origin
• 8th Bertrand Pace Aleph Sailing Team
• 9th Mads Ebler Ebler Matchracing
• 10th William Tiller Full Metal Jacket Racing
• 11th Susanne Ward Team Ward
• 12th Michael Buckley MB Sailing

An 8 – 3 scoreline saw MRT through to the semi finals after the first round, but facing the current Tour leader Mathieu Richard the team have their backs against the wall, down by 2 points after the first two races.

BlackMatch Racing won the round with 9 wins and 2 losses, and chose to race Team Azzura lead by Italy’s leading skipper Francesco Bruni. This left MRT with no choice, facing off against the French Match Racing Team who have had a phenomenal season so far, winning 3 events.

MRT were ahead in both matches of today’s semi finals, but when a team is so in form, you cannot make any mistakes, and in both matches it all boiled down to one split second that cost the lead, or in the case of the second race, a penalty.

A nice extension by MRT on the final downwind kept people holding their breath as the Australians did their penalty on the finishing line, but it just wasn’t enough as Mathieu Richard’s boat snuck ahead to snatch the lead by a mere 2 feet.

Three straight wins on day two of the Danish Open keeps MRT up the top of the leaderboard, trailing only Italy’s Team Azzura who have finished the first round with 8 wins and 3 losses.

The ruthless format of the Danish Open only allows the top 4 teams to proceed through to the next stage, so it is very important for the teams to hit the ground running in the first round.

MRT have managed to do so, only dropping one race yesterday in the breeze against Team Azzura who are currently sitting in first after finishing all of their first round races.

The first race of the day saw MRT rushing out to the start after the race committee jumped straight into the starting sequence with MRT still preparing the boat on the dock after it had been taken out of the previous match.

Luckily it didn’t affect the result however, as MRT lead the local talent Mads Ebler around the track after a shaky start which saw Mirsky held out to windward of the starting line. The power of the right however brought the Australian’s quickly back into the game, and they were able to push Ebler over to the unfavoured side of the course.

“The mood on the boat is good. Even when we were late for the start against Ebler, we were able to keep our composure and focus on the small gains throughout the race.” Said MRT’s pitman Tudur Owen.

“Mathieu Richard’s team are sailing very well and have been very consistent this year, so we will be looking forward to a tight race with them tomorrow.”

Windy Weather on the first day of the Danish Open sees MRT on top of the leaderboard with a 4-1 scoreline.

Blustery conditions off the coast of the small island of Bornholm tested the skills of all of the teams in the Danish Open, but it was the Mirsky Racing Team who came out on top.

The only loss came against Team Azzura who managed to roll MRT on the first downwind and fought well to defend their lead across the difficult race track.

“These boats are really loaded up, especially in these conditions in Borholm so you have to work really hard to keep the boat under control but keep going as fast as possible” said Mirsky’s trimmer Kinley Fowler.

“It’s funny though, because the whole day was such a big learning curve for all of us. If we hadn’t been rolled by Azzura, we wouldn’t have been able to beat Ben Ainslie in the next race when he tried to roll us on the final downwind because we wouldn’t have fully worked out all of our systems.”

Tomorrow looks to bring more wind, so the learning curve will continue to climb up as MRT look in good form to make the top 4.

A Windy Final Against Jen Gram Hansen

With a second in the Danish Open to Aarhus’ local favourite Jes Gram-Hansen, MRT, the youngest team on the World Match Racing Tour have taken the lead.

Aarhus delivered the strongest winds of the week, with gusts blowing well above 20 knots, providing plenty of action for the spectators lining the rocks.

Narrowly qualifying for the finals over Mattias Rahm in a nail-biting 3-2 series which came to a dramatic close when Rahm incurred a penalty on the final upwind and, failing to wipe it, watched Torvar Mirsky sail through to race in the finals against Jes Gram Hansen.

The Danish local however, took it to a new level and dominated the series, winning 3 straight races.

“The starts were so important today, and Jes’ team had an edge over us in all three races. We fought hard, and often brought the game within distance,
but they always held us off and they deserved to win.” Said skipper Torvar Mirsky after the day’s racing had come to an end. “…but we are leading the
Tour now, so we are really happy! To make two finals in a row is excellent, and we hope to carry on this form in Bermuda next month.”

With the team jumping to new heights, leading the World Match Racing Tour, they can shift their focus onto the next two events which will be crucial for their hunt for the glory of being crowned as the World Match Racing Tour champions.

Final Results

• 1st Trifork Racing Team, Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN)
• 2nd Mirsky Racing Team, Torvar Mirsky (AUS)
• 3rd Yanmar Racing, Peter Gilmour (AUS)
• 4th Stena Bulk Racing, Mattias Rahm (SWE)
• 5th Bahrain Team Pindar, Ian Williams (GBR)
• 6th Franch Match Racing Team, Mathieu Richard (FRA)
• 7th BlackMatch Racing, Adam Minoprio (NZL)
• 8th French Match Racing Team, Damien Iehl (FRA)
• 9th K-Challenge, Sebastien Col (FRA)
• 10th Waka Racing, Phil Robinson (NZL)
• 11th Wibroe Sailing Team, Peter Wibroe (DEN)
• 12th Jonas Warrer (DEN)

Article by Kinley

And a Photo

Torvar at the Helm During the 2009 Danish Open

MRT Crash into Black Match Racing

After a full on day of racing, MRT are now sitting one up in the semi finals over Sweden’s Mattias Rahm.

MRT had to win 3 races from their remaining 6 of the round robin, which they just managed, putting them through to the semi finals. Tensions rose however in the final race of the round robin when there was a big collision with BlackMatch Racing in their heated duel, as the possibility of a half-point deduction loomed.

The boat was mostly unharmed however, and the Australian team cruised into the semi finals, along with Peter Gilmour (AUS), Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN) and Mattias Rahm (SWE).

In typical crowd pleasing fashion, Gilmour chose to race local hero Jes Gram-Hansen who stood out as an early favourite in the event.

This left MRT with Mattias Rahm’s Stena Bulk Racing Team who had won in their close round robin match, despite having lost their trimmer Oscar Angerwall to a head injury. The first race of the semi finals ran smoothly however, as the Australians started ahead and defended their lead through to the finishing line.

“Even without his trimmer, Mattias was hard to beat, we faced him in the finals of Match Cup Sweden last year where he beat us so it would be good continue on and get back on him tomorrow” said MRT bowman Graeme Spence after the long day on the water.

Tomorrows racing will see the completion of the semi finals, 5th to 8th race offs, and eventually the crowning of the Danish Open champion.

RESULTS

Semi Finals

• Mirsky Racing Team, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) 1 – Stena Bulk Racing Team, Mattias Rahm (SWE) 0
• Trifork Racing Team, Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN) 1 – Yanmar Racing, Peter Gilmour (AUS) 0

After Round Robin

5th Ian Williams (FRA) Team Pindar 5 – 6
6th Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5 -6
7th Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5 – 6
8th Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 5 -6
9th Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5 – 6
10th Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 4 – 7
11th Peter Wibroe (DEN) Wibroe Sailing Team 4 – 7
12th Jonas Warrer (DEN) 3 – 8

Article by Kinley

And a Photo….

MRT - Waiting for the Wind.

Light winds plagued the 2009 Danish Open today as race organisers only managed to get four flights underway in the unusual Arhus weather. Desperate to complete races the teams were sent out at 6pm in order to push through the format.

MRT faced fellow Australian Peter Gilmour and his Yanmar racing team in extreme conditions where the wind was not visible on the water. MRT lead around the course narrowly but a shift saw Yanmar Racing overtake down the last run to clinch victory.

“It was a tough day, sitting around for 9 hours and only completing two races is draining and to get pipped on the line by Gilly is disappointing but our
progress so far has been good” said Tudur from MRT.

The Danish duel between Olympic Gold medallist Jonas Warrer and local hero Jes Gram Hansen saw a black flag awarded to the Olympic champion before he crossed the starting line. The much anticipated race drew a large crowd on the shoreline to cheer on their respective team.

With 6 races remaining MRT are still in contention with only one loss from 5 races and hoping for a strong showing tomorrow in order to qualify for the next stage of the event.

Live tracking of the races is available on http://www.tractrac.com/?page=danishopen2009 or live race result updates can be found at www.worldmatchracingtour.com

Results After Day Two:

• Trifork Racing Jes Gram Hansen DEN (6-1)
• Stena Bulka Sailing Mattias Rahm SWE (5-2)
• MRT Torvar Mirsky AUS (4-1)
• Yanmar Racing Peter Gilmour AUS (4-3)
• French Match Racing Team Damien Iehl FRA (3-2)
• Wibroe Sailing Team Peter Wibroe DEN (3-2)
• ETNZ Blackmatch Adam Minoprio NZL (3-4)
• K-Challenge Seb Col FRA (2-3)
• French Spirit Mathieu Richard FRA (2-5)
• Jonas Warrer DEN (2-5)
• Bahrain Team Pindar Ian Williams GBR (1-4)
• Waka Racing Phil Robertson NZL (1-4)

Article by Kyle

And a photo…

mage © Per Heegaard Mattias Rahm (SWE) Stenna Bulk Sailing Team