The fickle mountain winds brought challenges for all the teams, but MRT found themselves on the wrong side of the shifts in most races.

The day was full of highs and lows, and the last race of the day against BlackMatch Racing saw plenty of both.

MRT lost the start and conceded a penalty, but with some neat shiftwork they managed to get themselves ahead at the top mark. Extending their lead around the track it looked as though they could wipe off their penalty and keep the lead, but now it was Minoprio’s team who worked their way back into the game, and forcing the error at the top mark they sailed away to a comfortable win.

Tomorrow MRT will race the rest of the teams who are all fighting to be the King of the Mountain

And a photo

Around the Bottom Mark.

In Front of Black Match Racing in the Finals

With a strong week behind them, MRT finished 2nd in the St Moritz Match Race, putting them firmly in second place on the World Match

Racing Tour behind BlackMatch Racing’s Adam Minoprio who took out the “King of the Mountain” title 2-1.

The morning saw the 4th and final race of the semi finals in a dying morning breeze. MRT had to win one more race to knock out French Match Racing Team’s Philipe Presti and advance through to race the ready and waiting BlackMatch Racing.

The first race of the final was sailed in extremely light conditions, the first upwind saw several lead changes with MRT trailing at the first top mark, a gybe set saw them narrow in on Blackmatch by the bottom mark. A close rounding saw the umpires award MRT a double penalty. After completing their immediate penalty MRT followed Blackmatch around the course unable to pass.

The second race saw a close battle on the first upwind, Blackmatch had a slight advantage off the line but MRT managed to put together a few shifts and take the lead by the top mark. Blackmatch got caught up with the boats from the petite final which allowed MRT to sail comfortably to even the scores at one all.

Blackmatch then went on to comfortably win the third and deciding race to secure victory in the 2009 Saint Moritz Match Race.

MRT finished a credible second which also puts then in second place overall on the World Match Racing Tour.

Next week the tour heads to Aarhus in Denmark for the next stage of the Tour where MRT looks to make another step towards becoming the 2009 World Match Racing Champions.

Final Results

• 1st Adam Minoprio
• 2nd Torvar Mirsky
• 3rd Ian Williams
• 4th Philipe Presti
• 5th Francesco Bruni
• 6th Sebatien Col
• 7th Peter Gilmor
• 8th Mathieu Richard
• 9th Johnie Berntsson
• 10th Bjorn Hansen
• 11th Alvaro Marinho
• 12th Eric Monnin

At the end of racing today Mirsky Racing Team leads France’s Phillip Presti in the semi finals 2-1.

After watching the quarter finals from the grandstands, amidst 200 spectators, MRT came to choose French Match Racing Team’s Philipe Presti after he qualified over Italy’s Francesco Bruni in a clean sweep.

Racing for the semi finals began in the late afternoon as the breeze began to die and swing all over the place, however the combination of  Torvar’s prestarts and Kyle’s tactical input, put them in a strong position over the French.

With one race in hand, the fight for the “King of the Mountain” title could be a repeat of the Portugal Match Cup, with Adam Minoprio’s BlackMatch Racing taking down Bahrain Team Pindar 3-0 to be the first finalist.

“After sitting out and watching the quarters its good to finish the day one point up and the team is feeling really good about how we are progressing” said Graeme after both teams were sent ashore in the fading afternoon breeze.

Tomorrow will see the deciding race where the winner will go through to the final of the 2009 St. Moritz Match Race.

The kiwi skipper won the six matches he sailed today, knocking Ian Williams (GBR, Team Pindar) out of the event in the semi-finals with a 3/0 score line.

Torvar Mirsky (AUS, Mirsky Racing Team) didn’t have to compete in the quarter finals thanks to his victory in the Round Robin. He had the right to choose his opponent and decided to sail against Philippe Presti in the Semi-Final. A choice that proved to be good (so far), with the Australian managing to win his first two matches. The Race Committee then decided to postpone the third and decisive match to tomorrow morning because the wind just wasn’t stable enough this afternoon.

The visiting public who made the trip to St. Moritz for the event were not to be disappointed. The wind wasn’t at its best today, but the sun was shining and the show was great. Philippe Presti (FRA, French Match Racing Team) started the day in style, beating the Italian sailor Francesco Bruni (Joe Fly Match Racing) by 3 – 0. “It was like a boxing match”, commented Presti after the series. Indeed, there were many collisions in this contest. Bruni said, laughing, “that his new sunglasses were responsible for his lack of precision.”

Adam Minoprio also managed to beat his opponent in the quarter final by 3 – 0. sailing against Peter Gilmour (AUS, Yanmar Racing), the kiwi didn’t give away anyy opportunities to the Australian America’s Cups veteran, to take his spot in the semi-finals convincingly.

The ‘King of the Mountain’ 2009 will be crowned tomorrow. Competition will be fierce and a great spectacle for all the visitors to St Moritz Match Race.

And a Photo…

Torvar on TV.

Hot on Richard's Tail - St Moritz

The third day of Saint Moritz Match Race sees MRT win the round robin stage and fast track to the semi finals in stunning fashion as they eliminated current WMRT leader Mathieu Richard.

Once again Saint Moritz provided some very difficult conditions for sailors as winds varied from 5-18knots with 80degree wind shifts.

MRT had four remaining races against difficult opponents but with good pre-starts and solid boat handling they managed to secure three victories from four races.

An all important race against Mathieu Richard to decide the winner of the round robin saw a red flag penalty off the start line which gave MRT the jump. The French Team sailed strongly to pass on the downwind and narrowly take the lead around the first bottom mark. A close upwind saw the French lose their lead as MRT ground them down after a vicious tacking duel and take the lead and go on to  secure the round robin without having to sail the last race against Presti.

“It’s a great feeling to skip the quarters and go straight through to the semi finals, tomorrow we will be watching the quarterfinalists closely to help us decide who to pick for our semi final match” said helmsman Torvar Mirsky at the commencement of racing.

Tomorrow positions 2-7 will race off for the remaining three positions in the semi finals.

Quarterfinals:

• Yanmar Racing Peter Gilmour vs. ETNZ Blackmatch Adam Minoprio
• Bahrain Team Pindar Ian Williams vs. K-Challenge Seb Col
• Joe Fly Francesco Bruni vs. French Match Racing Team Phillip Presti

• 8th French Spirit Mathieu Richard FRA
• 9th Berntsson Sailing Team Johnnie Berntsson SWE
• 10th Team Onboard Bjorn Hansen SWE
• 11th Seth Sailing Alvaro Marinho POR
• 12th Search.ch Eric Monnin SUI

Up Close and Personal with MRT

The Australian sailor Torvar Mirsky, Mirsky Racing Team, aged 24, managed to win the St. Moritz Match Race Round Robin. For his efforts he gets a direct ticket to the semi-finals whilst the other competitors will have to make it through the quarter finals first.

Francesco Bruni, ITA, Team Joe Fly Match Race; Ian Williams, GBR, Team Pindar; Philippe Presti, FRA, French Match Racing Team; Sébastien Col, FRA, French Match Racing Team; Peter Gilmour, AUS, YANMAR Racing and Adam Minoprio, NZL, ETNZ/Black Match made it through the Round Robin and are now engaged in the quarter finals. As for the other competitors, they are out of the event.

The last four flights of the Round Robin took place in difficult conditions this afternoon. Indeed, the wind was quite irregular and some of the situations encountered on the water made it very hard for the teams to choose the right option.

Amongst those who seemed to have an easy run, Peter Gilmour and his YANMAR team proved early on in the day that they deserve a spot in the quarter finals. The situation was completely different for Adam Minoprio (NZL) and the three French teams who completed their last matches under intense pressure.

Ian Williams and Sébastien Col even managed to run aground near the windward mark during their match. Williams got out of this trap quicker than his opponent and won the race. With a penalty against him Philippe Presti tried as hard as possible to inflict a penalty back on Minoprio and block him at the top mark and all the way down the final run, however the kiwi sailor managed to escape Presti’s clutches and grab a precious point.

Last but not least, the local sailor Eric Monnin won his last race against the world no 1 Adam Minoprio; a prestige victory only as he didn’t win enough matches to make it to the next stage.

The quarter finals (best of five) started immediately after the Corviglia Challenge corporate regatta, an event that allowed some of the event’s partners to sail with the best match racers in the world and compete against each other for fun.

Franceso Bruni chose to sail against Philippe Presti whilst Ian Williams opted for Sébastien Col, leaving Peter Gilmour against Adam Minoprio. Both Presti and Col proved to their opponent that maybe they should have chosen someone else, whilst Peter Gilmour lost his first match to Minoprio by a few seconds.

Racing will resume tomorrow at 11:00 AM with the rest of the quarter final and possibly the first races of the semi final. The finals will take place on Sunday.
They said :

Torvar Mirsky :

“I wasn’t expecting such a good start to the event. Last year we finished 10th and I know how difficult it is to win here. However, we’ve made a lot of progress including the little details that allow us to feel more comfortable this year.”

Adam Minoprio :

“This Round Robin was particularly difficult and we just made it in to the quarter finals ahead of Mathieu Richard. The wind is very shifty and it is always difficult to make the break. Having said that, the game is the same for everyone and I really love sailing here.”

Andrew Pindar OBE, chairman of Pindar Group (sponsor of Ian Williams and visiting St. Moritz in order to encourage his team):

“I met Ian Williams here in St. Moritz. Peter Holmberg introduced me to this event, which is extraordinary. Ian’s team didn’t have a sponsor when I met him. People advised me that he was one to watch because he was so promising. It seems like it was a good advise.”

Full results at www.wmrt.org/smmr09_results
Pictures at www.wmrt.org/dg/22295
Daily video news at www.sail.tv

Article from MaxComm

Strong start shown by MRT

Day two of the fight for the ‘King of the Mountain’ again brought a variety of conditions, as Mirsky Racing Team secured another two wins
from two races.

A long delay in the morning saw teams sitting ashore waiting for the local Maloja mountain breeze to kick in. As soon as the breeze
settled, PRO Christian Scherrer sent teams out in an attempt to complete the round robin stage.

Shifty winds ensured that the racing was never over until the boats crossed the finish line. The cold mountain breeze seemed to have its
effect on the sailors as once again the fans on the grandstand witnessed many collisions and point deductions on teams for serious
damage.

MRT managed to have a relaxing morning as they did not have to race until the afternoon, making full use of the the Badrutt’s Palace five
star pool and spa.

The morning off also gave MRT time to watch their opponents battle in the shifty conditions where Bahrain Team Pindar hit their stride to
show why they are the reigning world champions with an undefeated record.

“The conditions out there vary so much and there isn’t really a trend with the shifts, we are doing a bit of ‘freestyling’ which is a bit different
because we can usually plan our strategy in advance, here we have to take it as it comes, but its working out nicely for us” commented
MRT trimmer Kinley Fowler after racing.

Tomorrow the race comittee will finish off the round robin stage before the teams head into the quarter final series for which MRT is looking in
a strong position to qualify.

With a forecast of 15knots and a tempreture of 3 degrees tomorrows racing promises to be eventful.

Results After Day Two:

• Joe Fly Francesco Bruni ITA                              8-3
• Bahrain Team Pindar Ian Williams GBR              6.5-0
• Yanmar Racing Peter Gilmour AUS                    7-4
• Mirsky Racing Team Torvar Mirsky AUS             5-2
• French Match Racing Team Phillipe Presti FRA   5-2
• Blackmatch ETNZ Adam Minoprio NZL                4-3
• K-Challenge Seb Col FRA                                  5-3
• Team French Spirit Matheui Richard FRA            4-4
• Seth Sailing Alvaro Marinho POR                        3-6
• Berntsson Sailing Team Johnnie Berntsson SWE 3-7
• Team Onboard Bjorn Hansen SWE                     3-8
• Search.ch Eric Monnin SUI                                 1-9

And a Photo…