Torvar takes some time in St Moritz to talk to Hannah White about the year so far including the choices that had to be made to make the most of opportunities with the Extreme Sailing Series and Venezia Challenge America’s Cup team.

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.

Quarter Final Pairings:

• Jesper Radich (DEN) Vs. Francesco Bruni (ITA)
• Ian Williams (GBR) Vs. Magnus Holmberg (SWE)
• Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Vs. Damien Iehl (FRA)
• Ben Ainslie (GBR) Vs. Mathieu Richard (FRA)

]]> http://www.mirskyracingteam.net/2010/07/09/watch-mirsky-racing-team-at-match-cup-sweden-live-here/feed/ 0 http://www.mirskyracingteam.net/2010/06/10/onboard-video-of-mrt-at-korea-match-cup/ http://www.mirskyracingteam.net/2010/06/10/onboard-video-of-mrt-at-korea-match-cup/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:25:26 +0000 admin http://www.mirskyracingteam.net/?p=1010 Thanks to Pierre Orphanidis of Valencia Sailing for this insight into the way MRT races.

Korea Match Cup 2010 – RR Flight 5 – Mirsky vs Pacé from Valencia Sailing on Vimeo.

Onboard Torvar Mirsky’s yacht in the race against Bertrand Pacé in the Korea Match Cup round robin. Jeongok Marina, 9 June 2010. Video copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

“Its frustrating not being able to race for the title, we felt as though we were sailing well but we can’t control the wind. We are on the pace and we are really looking forward to Korea next week” said Torvar Mirsky.

Yanmar Racing aren’t easy opponents at the best of times, especially here in Germany where skipper Peter Gilmour has taken out the title 3 times. The morning’s racing was in relatively consistent winds for Lake Constance, and the Mirsky Racing Team were able to get an early lead. However Yanmar Racing Team struck back to level the scores at 1 -1. MRT then went on to take out the next two races just before the wind shut down for the semi finals.

The winner of the First Stage, Mathieu Richard from the French Match Racing Team chose to race Jesper Radich in the first to 3 points Semi Finals, leaving the world number one Adam Minoprio from BlackMatch Racing to face off against world number two team, MRT.

With ten hours of racing behind them, both teams were very heated going into the last races of the day, and it showed with penalties being awarded throughout the three races.

“We weren’t doing a very good job of starting in the first two matches against BlackMatch, but we felt like we were sailing fast and smart. In the third race it was really do or die for us, and they got a red flag penalty on the start line which put them out the back door.” Said MRT’s trimmer Kinley Fowler.

“Adam’s team doesn’t have the best track record when they are two up in a finals, plus it is Torvar’s birthday tomorrow so hopefully we will have that little bit of luck on our side to push us out in front.”

Semi Finals:

• Mathieu Richard – French Match Racing Team 1 win, Jesper Racdich – Radich Racing Team 2 wins
• Adam Minoprio – BlackMatch Racing Team 2 wins, Torvar Mirsky – Mirsky Racing Team 1 win

MRT through to the Quarter Finals of Match Race Germany

A tough day on the water saw MRT finish the stage one round robin in 4th place, automatically placing them into the quarter finals.

With only 3 races remaining in the round, the team suffered two losses to rivals Adam Minoprio and Mathieu Richard, but with a guaranteed pass through to the next stage the team was able to relax a little.

Now moving on to the quarter finals MRT will face their Australian rival and match racing legend, Peter Gilmour.

Gilmour has managed to get the best of MRT in their last few meetings, but the team is feeling its about time to turn the tables and take down Gilmour at the game in which he has been competing at for over 30 years.

The last time they race Gilmour knocked MRT out of the Monsoon Cup, thus diminishing their hopes of winning the 2009 WMRT.

“The wind was very tricky today, the light winds made the decision of when to turn back to the line in the pre-start crucial, we were a bit slow in adjusting to this and as a result we didn’t get the opportunity to take the first shift, from then on we were on the back foot”

“We are not unhappy with the day though, we feel as though we are progressing nicely and look forward to taking on Gilly in the quarters, we have unfinished business with him” commented Mirsky on the days performance.

Tomorrow live video footage can be seen here at 10am.

Semi Finalist

• French Match Racing Team FRA

Quarter Finals

• MRT AUS vs. Yanmar Racing AUS
• ETNZ Black Match NZL vs. Victory Challenge SWE
• Team Pindar GRB vs. Radich Sailing Team DEN

Other Results

• 8th Team Italia ITA
• 9th Team Proximo RSA
• 10th Ebler Match Racing DEN
• 11th Ewe Sailing Team GER
• 12th Gill Global Team SWE

Langenargen delivers a picture perfect day as MRT climb to 6 wins on day two of Match Race Germany.

After a strong day yesterday, the Mirsky Racing Team kept up their strong form, only losing two races against the old fox Peter Gilmour from Yanmar Racing and Team Pindar’s Ian Williams who is currently leading the event on 7 wins and 1 loss.

Coming into the event, MRT knew that starting well in the Bavaria 35′s was going to be the deciding factor for a lot of races, especially in the light winds on display this week. Today this rang true, with MRT losing both their races at the start line. In particular was the team’s 4th race of the day against Peter Gilmour.

MRT were well in control of Yanmar Racing Team, pushing them to the wrong side of the starting line, but in the dying seconds before the gun, they were unable to gain momentum and Gilmour came out on top.

“There was a small miscommunication onboard our boat which let them build speed and get off the line while we were still dead in the water.” Said MRT’s bowman Graeme Spence. “However that error aside we feel really comfortable and relaxed this week. We are also learning a lot about the boats and this tricky venue with each race, so hopefully we can keep this momentum going into the later stages.”