Another fine day in Portimao, and another fine day for MRT as they carry on their form from yesterday to win all today’s races.

With unfavourable weather having plagued this year’s Portugal Match Cup, the threat of cutting the format down is looming. This means that the round robin could turn out to be more important than usual, with the winner of the round possibly fast tracking through to the semi finals.

Luckily the slow start to the morning’s racing didn’t have an effect on MRT today as they burst through the gates against Aleph Sailing Team’s French veteran Bertrand Pace. An aggressive start left Pace in the wake of the Australians as they sailed off to carry on their winning spree.

“I guess we are sailing well, but we haven’t quite reached our peak yet, and we are looking to strengthen the way we perform” said MRT’s Welsh pitman Tudur Owen. “I hope we get to sail the quarterfinals tomorrow, because we are really enjoying sailing here this week and want to keep on going as much as we can. It would be a shame to have to cut back on another format this year…”

Torvar said in the official tour release:

“We feel comfortable in the SM40 boats, our crew work together is really good, we’ve been sailing as a unit for a few years now and it just feels easy that way.  It’s just the Round Robin but to be leading this stage is really nice, there are still a few more races to go and we want to be first, hopefully we will get to race an easy person first in the quarters”.

Day 3: Current Round Robin Standings

Once again racing was delayed as the seabreeze couldn’t settle in, and the teams were left to soak up the sun in this picture perfect arena.

The racing wasn’t quite so easy however, with Team Azzura’s Francesco Bruni looking to draw the day’s first blood. Both teams were pushing to the limits to get the advantage off the line, and finding some speed, MRT managed to force Azzura to tack off to the unfavoured side, and with this slight advantage the Australian’s managed to lead through to the finish.

The final race of the day saw a rematch of the Korea Match Cup semi finals with MRT seeking revenge on the French Match Racing Team, lead by Mathieu Richard. A feisty prestart saw MRT lead marginally off the line after a daring stunt by skipper Torvar Mirsky got them in front.

“It was pretty touch and go as to whether we were going to fit in the small gap between Richard’s boat and the committee boat, but luck was on our side and the boys did a pretty good job to get us up to speed without getting a penalty” said Torvar Mirsky after the day’s racing came to a close.

“We were really happy with our last race against Richard, but also the whole day. We are sailing well, but I still think we have some room for improvement.”

Day 2: Current Round Robin Standings

Racing was delayed this morning, giving the sailors the chance to bathe in the beautiful Portugese sun. Finally racing got underway late in the afternoon, and the event was underway in the season’s first glimpse of strong breeze.

When it was MRT’s turn to step onto the boats, the wind slowly began to fade, but remained steady for their first race against Spain’s Manu Weiller. After a solid prestart, MRT managed to get to the favoured side of the course and fend off the Spaniards attacks to take their first wind.

The second race against Victory Challenge’s Magnus Holmberg didn’t run as smoothly, with the Swedish Match 40 veteran sailing smart to beat the Australian team.

“Obviously it wasn’t ideal to lose to Magnus, but he pulled off some interesting moves that we have put into our memories for next time” said Tactician Kyle Langford. “We are really happy with everything though. It is a great race track with a great backdrop and these boats are a lot of fun to sail, so we are staying positive going into tomorrow morning’s races.”

Day 1: Current Round Robin Standings

• Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 3-0
• Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 2-0
• Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 2-0
• Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 2-1
• Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 2-1
• Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 1-1
• Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge 1-1
• Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team 1-2
• Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team 1-2
• Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team 0-2
• Manuel Weiller (ESP) Team Iberdrola 0-2
• Eugeny Neugodnikov (RUS) Team Synergy 0-3

Torvar said:

“It’s been six years in the making, but we’re finally here. So many times we’ve been so close, but just unable to get through, and today everything just came together for us. I’m still a bit stunned we’re here!”

Torvar Celebrates the Win in Portugal

Mirsky took his fellow antipodean Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch team in just two matches of the first-to-two point Final, displaying a smooth sailing style and impeccable sense of timing both in the pre-starts and around the track. It is this same style that also in only two matches got him past Mathieu Richard (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team in the first-to-two point Semi-Final.

Mirsky Racing Team was not on fire throughout the entire event, however, as they barely qualified to the Quarter-Finals on a 6-6 win-loss record in the Round Robin. That all changed yesterday, however, as they went on to win all but one match in the Quarter-Final, Semi-Final, and Final rounds.

And while the first match of the Final was decided fairly early in the game as Mirsky took and extended on his winning start, the second match was far from easy. At the top mark the Kiwis were at the mark zone on the left, and attempted to force out the Aussies from claiming room with a hard luff. Amidst a heated exchange and calls for room, Mirsky managed to slip inside and around the mark in the lead, which he kept throughout the match to the finish.

Torvar said:

“We enjoy a good rivalry with Adam and his team and actually trained with him over the past week in Valencia. He’s been doing so well lately, we needed this win just to slow him down!”

The Team Came from 7th to Win

Indeed, in the overall World Championship leaderboard Minoprio’s runner-up finish here has earned him another 20 points to maintain a healthy 12 point lead. And on the strength of his exciting 2-1 win over Richard here in the Petite-Finals, Ian Williams (GBR) and his Bahrain Team Pindar have jumped up to the runner-up position, but only a point over Richard. And Mirsky has vaulted 25 points ahead to go from eighth to fourth.

Article provided by Dobbs Davis

Overall Results
1st Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing
2nd Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch
3rd Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar
4th Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
5th Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team
6th Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
7th Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge
8th Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onboard
9th Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
10th Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team
11th Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo
12th Andrew Arbuzov (RUS)

Images © Wander Roberto

Backstage. Waiting for the main show.

Mirsky Racing Team went into the day knowing they were one win away from a guaranteed top 4 placing and a semi final berth. Facing the French Match Racing Team (Phillip Presti) in the moderate Portuguese sea breeze, MRT dominated the prestart and rounded the first top mark with a 5 boat length lead.

MRT displayed strong crew work to defend and even extend their lead to sail to victory over the French veteran.

“Although on paper, our last 2 regattas results have not been so great, we did learn a lot and we are now putting those lessons into practice. We are sailing quite well and are happy with our progress and really look forward to the semis” said MRT helmsman Torvar Mirsky after their morning quarterfinal victory.

The victory early in the day allowed MRT to sit back and watch the other quarterfinals battle it out a much sought after semi final place. Once the quarterfinals were completed MRT were paired up to race the other French Match Racing Team skipper Mathieu Richard in the semi finals. The breeze shut down and the competitors were not able to start the semi’s.

The semi final races will be held tomorrow morning followed immediately by the finals to decide the 2009 Troia Match Cup champion.

Results:

Semifinalists

• Mirsky Racing Team (Torvar Mirsky) vs French Match Racing Team (Matheui Richard)
• ETNZ Blackmatch (Adam Minoprio) vs Bahrain Team Pindar (Ian Williams)

MRT at the Troia Portugal Match Cup 2009

Mirsky Racing Team had a good day on the water today with the completion of the round robin seeing them qualify in 7th place going into the quarter finals.

The winner of the round robin, veteran Americas Cup helmsman of the French Match Racing Team, Philipe Presti chose to race MRT in the best of 5 quarter final series.

MRT managaged to go up in the first two races against the French Match Racing Team, showing their flare that had been so sorely missed in the previous two events. In the third race in the dying sea. In
the third race the French Match Racing Team convincingly won the start and mantained their lead despite a strong attack from MRT, taking the scores to 2-1 in MRT’s favour at the end of the day´s racing.
Tomorrow sees the final races of the quarter finals where MRT look to qualify for the semi finalsof the Portugal Match Cup.

Quarter Final Results:

• Torvar Mirsky 2 – Philipe Presti 1
• Matthiu Richard 2 – Bjorn Hansen 1
• Ian Williams 0 – Sebastien Col 0
• Peter Gilmour 0 – Adam Minoprio 0

Round Robin Results:

• French Match Racing Team (Phillip Presti) FRA 9-2
• Team French Spirit (Mathieu Richard) FRA 9-2
• Yanmar Racing (Peter Gilmour) AUS 8-3
• Bahrain Team Pindar (Ian Williams) GBR 7-4
• ETNZ Blackmatch (Adam Minoprio) NZL 7-4
• K-Challenge (Seb Col) FRA 6-5
• Mirsky Racing Team (Torvar Mirsky) AUS 6-5
• Team Onboard (Bjorn Hansen) SWE 5-6
• Waka Racing (Phil Robertson) NZL 3-8
• Alvaro Marinho POR 2-9
• Ian Ainslie RSA 2-9
• Andrew Arbuzov RUS 2-9

MRT in Portugal

Day two of the Portugal Match Cup saw competitors face long delays and trying conditions. Mirsky Racing Team sits with 4 wins and 4 losses with 3 races left in the round before the quarter final stage.

A 10am scheduled start was quite optimistic by the race committee as the first race was sent off in light conditions where MRT was defeated by Team French Spirit (Mattheui Richard).

With the dying breeze competitors were sent ashore and did not return to the water until the afernoon when the late sea breeze settled in.

The afternoon saw some close racing for MRT where they were narrowly beaten by the French Match Racing Team (Phillip Presti). ‘we made a slight mistake on the line and gave them a small advantage on the one way track,we  sailed well to finish half a length behind him but just couldn’t get those last few metres’ said MRT’s Graeme Spence.

The final race MRT comfortably defeated the local Seth Sailing Team (Alvaro Marinho) to finish off the day. With 3 races remaining MRT is looking forward to a strong performance in the business end of the regatta.

A special thanks to Line7, Harken and the Royal Perth Yacht Club for their support.

MRT Preparing For Start At 2009 Troia Portugal Match Cup

After completing 5 matches in light winds, and strong tide, MRT have notched up 3 wins and 2 losses, putting them in good stead for the remaining races of the round robin.

MRT’s most nerve racking race was against Blackmatch (Adam Minoprio).

Blackmatch won the prestart with MRT having to return from the oncourse side of the line.  Blackmatch continued out to the left side of the course where MRT saw a glimpse of a right hand shift early on, backing their judgement paid off in the end as MRT extended to quite a large lead in the shifty conditions. MRT went on to take the race against their young rivals from across the Tasman.

“In these shifty conditions its actually quite hard to defend a large lead, its almost easier being two boat lengths ahead so you can block every move they throw at you, but when you have 50degree wind shifts they can catch up quite easily” commented MRT trimmer Kinley Fowler after the tough days racing.

Tomorrow the race committee will aim to complete the round robin, but with light winds forecasted again it may be another long day on the water at the 2009 Portugal Match Cup.

A special thanks to Line7, Harken and the Royal Perth Yacht Club for their support.

MRT in Portugal in 2008

The World Match Racing Tour heads for the Portuguese resort of Troia for stage 4 of the 2009 season.

London, UK (16 June 2009) – Hot on the heels of the hugely popular Korea Match Cup comes the Troia Portugal Match Cup. Sailed in the purpose designed SM40 at the tip of the Troia peninsula the Troia Portugal Match Cup will see 12 teams racing for a share of the €50,000 prize purse and valuable World Championship points.

Leading the charge is ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing’s Adam Minoprio, (NZL), who has been spending some time in Valencia training on Victory Challenges SM40′s along with fellow antipodean Torvar Mirsky, (AUS) Mirsky Racing. Both teams are hungry for points towards their standings and will be giving it all they’ve got.

Defending Troia Portugal Match Cup Champion Sébastien Col’s French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge will be looking to turn the run of poor form of recent events and set his Championship hopes alight again with a good result.

Fellow Frenchman Mathieu Richard and his French Match Racing Team are currently third in the Tour rankings and will be confident about getting a good result with their strong track record in the SM40 having won in Brazil in 2007.

Back on the Tour with a new sponsor, YANMAR Racing’s Peter Gilmour, AUS, will be looking to emulate his success in Portugal in 2007 when he wiped out Ian Williams’, Bahrain Team Pindar 3-0 in the finals. Williams however will want to forget that particular encounter and will no doubt be primed and ready for a revenge attack on the seasoned Australian campaigner.

New Tour Card holder, Philippe Presti, FRA, French Match Racing Team has taken some time to build momentum this year and Troia will be the place for him to start his assault on the World Championship, the two time winner of the Finn Gold Cup and helmsman for Luna Rosa may not be the favourite going into the event but should be one to watch.

After a strong showing in Korea Bjorn Hansen, SWE, Team Onica, will return to Portugal with renewed vigour and with the knowledge that he needs to get some points on the Tour leader board if he intends to challenge for the world title.

Adding a little bit of the unknown to the line up are Ian Ainslie (RSA), Team Proximo and a young Kiwi team, Phil Robertson’s WAKA Racing. Ainslie is no stranger to the Tour and is currently ranked 10th by ISAF and could well take a few of the more favoured scalps given the opportunity. For Robertson Portugal will be his first Tour event though he has also secured an entry to the Danish Open later this year after winning the Warren Jones Youth Regatta. Young he may be but short on experience he isn’t having arrived in Europe early on this year to put in some serious hours match racing.

The Tour Qualifier Series has produced two teams for the Portugal Match Cup this year. The Campeonato Absoluto de Match Race has given Alvaro Marinho, POR, Seth Sailing Team his opportunity to take on the Worlds best and the Cleanport Winter Challenge hands Andrej Arbuzov, RUS a return ticket to the Tour after the Danish Open last year.

Racing starts on Wednesday 17 June with news, pictures, results and video updates available on www.wmrt.org

Entrants

• Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing
• Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar
• Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
• Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K Challenge
• Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
• Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onica
• Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team
• Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team
• Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo
• Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
• Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team
• Andrej Arbuzov (RUS)

Tour Standings
(After 3 of 10 events)

1. Adam Minoprio (NZL), ETNZ/BlackMatch 41points
2. Ben Ainslie, (GBR), Team Origin 40 points
3. Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Team 35 points
4. Ian Williams (GBR), Bahrain Team Pindar 34 points
5. Damien Iehl (FRA), French Team 32 points
6. Paolo Cian (ITA), Shosholoza 32 points
7. Peter Gilmour (AUS), YANMAR Racing 23 points
8. Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team 21 points