MRT took the final to the full 5 races against Team Origin’s Ben Ainslie and his superstar team, pulling themselves up onto the podium of the World Championship podium in 3rd place.

Winning the first race, the young guns shook their nerves and got settled into the rhythm they had going throughout the week. However Team Origin weren’t going to let them off with anything, taking back the next race to tie the scores with a convincing win.
“We felt good in the second race despite losing, but we got the better of the start again and pushed back in front, taking it to game point with their second win of the series.” Said Torvar after the prize giving ceremony took place. “Then we were in front again in the 4th race, but a little coms error meant we gybed away to the unfavoured side of the course and really gave the win to them. Then the final race was really a procession, and they outsailed us to take out the series. We truly gave it all we had, and I think we were sailing at a different level to what we have ever sailed before. I really had such a fun time sailing with the guys, they did an amazing job.”

With the America’s Cup moving into catermarans, the future of MRT is a bit hazy, but finishing on such a high means that the team will be back again next year to try and take out the World Match Racing Tour title.

The Monsoon Cup lived up to its name on the opening day, as racing commenced after the heavy downpour delayed this morning’s racing. MRT completed one race, defeating the defending World and Monsoon Cup champions from BlackMatch Racing, skippered by Adam Minoprio.

The opening race saw MRT up against Minoprio in what could have been the last time the two teams came head to head, with Minoprio bowing out of the World Match Racing Tour to pursue his Team New Zealand duties. The normally fiery duo presented a calm and calculated race, with Mirsky winning the start and playing the course well to extend to a comfortable victory.

The pressure is off MRT for this event, despite having a mathematical shot at the World Championship.

“We aren’t focusing on the world title anymore, I think it is unrealistic with Richard having quite a jump on us, and Minoprio and Ainslie both so hot on his heels, so we really are just enjoying sailing together in this event” commented Torvar Mirsky going into the first race.

Tomorrow racing continues for MRT with their first match against fellow Perth sailor Keith Swinton who qualified for the Monsoon Cup last week at the Aus Cup held on the Perth foreshore.

Mirsky Racing Team bow out of the race for the 2009 World Match Racing Tour title.

Losing their quarter final to YANMAR Racing in a controversial series that saw it all come down to the wire, MRT could no longer challenge for the world title as ETNZ Blackmatch took the tour title when they defeated Matthieu Richard 3-0 in their quarter final match.

Despite not being able to take out the championship, MRT are still hunting for a podium finish in the World Championship.

“It’s a painful loss, but we still have a lot to fight for tomorrow with the new Invitation policy for the 2010 World Tour. As soon as we have finished business here, we will be moving straight onto next season and developing our plan of attack for next season.” Said Torvar Mirsky.

Tomorrow’s racing will commence at 10am Malaysian time. Follow the action at www.mirskyracingteam.net

RESULTS

Final:
ETNZ Blackmatch vs. Team Origin

Petite Final:
ALL4One vs. Yanmar Racing

5th – 8th:
Mirsky Racing Team
Team French Spirit
Waka Racing
French Match Racing Team

9th Victory Challenge
10th Team Azzura
11th Team Pindar
12th Yazwan Yazam

Mirsky Racing Team down 0-1 against four time World Champion Peter Gilmour, and his Yanmar Racing team in their first quarter final encounter at the 2009 Monsoon Cup.

Needing at least one more win to guarantee their place in the next stage MRT narrowly lead Swedish Americas Cup helmsman Magnus Holmberg around the course.

The Victory Challenge skipper made a risky gybe down the last run where MRT could not defend because of the tide, but sticking to their strategy MRT held their nerve and held their lead to right to the finish.

MRT placed 5th in the round robin, after a complicated four way count back for second place. Without a high enough placing MRT were unable to choose their opponent in the quarter final and were left to race Yanmar Racing.

Racing for the quarter finals got underway in the late afternoon where the two rivers of the Terengganu venue provided teams with a difficult racecourse.

MRT started slightly ahead of Yanmar Racing with a slight advantage off the line, a big split up the first work saw the teams meet at the top mark with MRT edging ahead and holding Yanmar Racing out at the top mark.

Another split on the next upwind saw Yanmar Racing overtake on the tricky racecourse. Unable to work their way back into the race, MRT lost their first race of the quarter finals.

Racing will commence again tomorrow where the quarter finals will be decided and MRT continue their charge to win the World Match Racing Tour.

Results:

• Mirsky Racing Team AUS vs. Yanmar Racing AUS 0 – 1
• ETNZ Blackmatch NZL vs. French Team Spirit FRA 1 – 0
• Team Origin GBR vs. French Match Racing Team FRA 1 – 0
• All4One FRA vs. Waka Racing NZL 1 – 0
• 9th Victory Challenge (Magnus Holmberg) SWE
• 10th Team Azzura (Francesco Bruni) ITA
• 11th Team Pindar (Ian Williams) GBR
• 12th Taring Pelangi TESA (Hazim Hazwan) MAS

Strong currents and varible winds in Terengganu, saw some big upsets today with current world champions Bahrain Team  Pindar having a lot on in order to make it to the quarter final stage.

MRT first faced young Kiwi team Waka Racing, lead by Phil Robertson. Waka Racing capitalized on an MRT mistake in the  prestart and had the advantage off the line. Once Waka Racing had secured the right side of the course, MRT didn’t get a  glimpse of the lead.

Although the loss to the young kiwi’s was an upset, it proved that it was imperative to get out to the right side of the course straight off the line. With this in mind, MRT went on to defeat the local hero Hazim Hazwan.

The final race saw the two teams on top of the Tour BlackMatch Racing and MRT, face off in a fiery match. BlackMatch Racing won the start, winning the right side of the course, however they incurred a penalty so needed to keep the lead. With a new level of intensity the Australian’s fought hard to take the lead at the top mark, and despite a few close calls around the track, MRT took the win.

“It was an excellent win for us!” said an elated tactician Kyle Langford. “We always have close races, and it was only a small mistake by them up the first work that gave us the lead. We are stoked, but at the same time it’s just one race, and we still have three more hard races before we can start thinking about the World Tour trophy.”

Tomorrow’s racing will see the conclusion of the round robin, and the teams turn up the heat as their grasp on the World Match Racing Tour gets closer.

RESULTS:

• Team Origin – Ben Ainslie 7 wins 2 losses
• Waka Racing – Phil Robertson 6 wins 3 losses
• French Match racing – Mathieu Richard 6 wins 3 losses
• Mirsky Racing Team – Torvar Mirsky 5 wins 3 losses
• Victory Challenge – Magnus Holmberg 5 wins 3 losses
• ALL4ONE – Sebastien Col 5 wins 3 losses
• YANMAR Racing – Peter Gilmour 4 wins 4 losses
• BlackMatch Racing – Adam Minoprio 4 wins 4 losses
• French Match Racing – Damien Iehl 4 wins 5 losses
• Team Azzura – Francesco Bruni 3 wins 6 losses
• Bahrain Team Pindar – Ian Williams 3 wins 6 losses
• Taring Pelangi – Hazwan Hazim 0 wins 9 losses

Leading the scoreboard after the first day is four teams, all of which are in the running for the overall tour victory. Mirsky Racing Team, Blackmatch ETNZ, Yanmar Racing and Team Origin all sit with 3 wins and 1 loss at the commencement of racing today.

Most races today saw the team who won the start, hold their lead and generally finish ahead. “It’s a pretty one way track placing a lot of emphasis on the start” said Blackmatch bowman Nick Blackman who managed to edge a win over Team Origin in the last race of the day.

MRT had a successful day as they defeated Azzura, All4One and current World Champions Team Pindar.

Team French Spirit helmed by Matthieu Richard but up a good fight against MRT as they started slightly advantaged and won the right hand side of the course. Showing why he is ranked number 3 in the world, Richard didnt let up as he defended his lead around the course to finish ahead of MRT and hand them their first loss of the regatta.

“It was a solid start to the regatta today, to share the leaderboard overnight with the other tour contenders is important for us. The win in the Aus Cup has given us some confidence and we are happy with how our teamwork is developing so far, we still need to take it one race at a time though as each race is very important” commented MRT helmsman Torvar Mirsky.

#Tomorrow morning the round robin stage will continue and with so much at stake, there is sure to be some fireworks.

• Adam Minoprio (NZL) ENTZ/Black Match Racing 3-1
• Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing 3-1
• Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 3-1
• Ben Ainslie (GBR) Team Origin 3-1

• Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 3-2
• Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/ALL4ONE 2-1
• Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 2-2
• Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge 2-2
• Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Azzura 1-3
• Phil Robertson (NZL) Team New Zealand WAKA Racing 1-3
• Ian Williams (GBR) Team Pindar 1-3
• Hazwan Hazim Dermanwan (MAS) Tarian Pelangi TESA 0-4

We have welcomed the change of ownership, with a belief that the Tour will benefit from increased investment. Certainly if the prize pool for the 2009 Monsoon Cup is anything to go by, the World Match Racing Tour may be able to deliver a truly professional global sailing series.

The Monsoon Cup, which starts later this week in Malaysia, is offering total prize money of MYR1.57m (US$ 454,000). The winner pockets MYR 360,000 (US$104,000) while the last team (12th place) receives MYR 50,000 (US$14,400).

Monsoon Cup Race Advisor, Datuk Peter Gilmour said,

‘This makes the regatta the biggest prize pool available throughout all sailing events in 2009. Importantly, the Monsoon Cup marks the final stage of the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) where the ISAF World Champion will be crowned.’

Gilmour noted that the increase in prize money is attributed to the increased sponsorship commitments from the key sponsors and the State Government of Terengganu in providing such outstanding facilities and intra-government support that takes the event to a new level.

While there are many pretenders to the overused and largely misleading phrase, ‘the F1 of sailing’, the World Match Racing Tour is probably the only sailing event that comes close. It is truly global, visiting more diverse markets than any other event on an annual basis. It features some of the worlds best professional sailors and confers upon the winner the genuine title of World Champion.

Leaving aside the fact that it is effectively a ‘one-make’ championship, the World Match Racing Tour has the potential to deliver a truly recognisable World Championship outside of the Olympic classes.

The Monsoon Cup is owned and organised by the same team that has now acquired the Tour commercial rights. If other events on the Tour are to be run in the same manner, with the same prize money, then it will attract attention from sailors, sponsors and media alike.

Like many sailing platforms, The Monsoon Cup is backed by Government tourism and development budgets. It is project of the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports and it is proudly hosted by the State of Terengganu and is supported by key sponsors Richard Mille, TM, Cartrade Group (CTG), Astro, Firefly Airline, and Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort & Spa.

Like many, we are eager to learn more about the plans for the WMRT 2010 and beyond.

MRT upwind in Marseilles

After a long day out on the water, the round robin has been completed and the Quarterfinals pairing have been decided. MRT managed to just scrape through, winning the final race of the round robin to put them on 6 wins, finishing in 7th position.

The higher qualifying teams were given the power to choose who to race in tomorrow’s do or die quarterfinals, and reigning two time world champion Ian Williams of Bahrain Team Pindar chose to race the Mirsky Racing Team. The choice doesn’t come as much of a surprise as Williams managed to beat MRT in the round robin stage, however with the scores so close after the first stage, anything could happen.

“We’re looking forward to building up the momentum that we had today in tomorrow’s quarterfinals. We always aim to peak on the final day, and our performance has picked throughout the regatta, so we hope to continue it on right through to the end.”