Match Race France at Marseille - Day 1
by Alpari World Match Racing Tour 25 Sep 2012 19:33 BST
24-29 September 2012
Gilmour back to business
Strong offshore winds made for exciting sailing conditions on the first day of Qualifying at Match Race France, where Peter Gilmour got off to a flying start for the sixth stage of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT).
Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing sits on top of the standings in Marseille after five straight wins put his team on the brink of qualification to the knockout stages. Whilst he retained an unbeaten start to the competition, it was the elements that Gilmour felt were the toughest opposition.
He said: "We had a great day today and I think the boys did a really fabulous job. It's a long day but we sailed well, getting the starts we wanted and keeping everything together. We discussed things this morning and decided it was going to be one of those days where you don't really need to concentrate so much on the opposition. The key thing was always going to be keeping stable, alive and not capsize or losing by crew error. We just concentrated on keeping the boat upright.
"The J80's certainly don't suit me but when you're sailing in 20 knots of breeze, you're a hundred kilogrammes and you can get over the side to start swinging the boat down, it seems to work ok!"
Gilmour attributes his team's good start to the decision to arrive in Marseille early in order to spend some extra time in the racing area. He said: "We came out here early and managed to get in two really good days of practice with Simone Ferrarese. I think that has become a huge advantage, getting comfortable in the boats and with these conditions so I'm really pleased we spent our time doing that. After the practice was cancelled yesterday, I think the extra time on the race area has really told."
Ferrarese (ITA) Ferrarese Racing Team also started the day strongly with four opening wins and seemed to have a handle on the tricky conditions, powering the J80 boats to a 4-2 record by the end of the session. He said: "It's our first time here at Match Race France but we're confident after the grade 1 last week in Pornichet where we performed well and finished fourth.
"The racing conditions are tricky here with the strong winds but we're enjoying it and look forward to getting back out on the water tomorrow.
"At the moment all we're concentrating on is getting as many points as we can in qualifying here in Marseille. Honestly, we're not thinking too far ahead of ourselves through to the knockout rounds. We've got off to a good start so we'll try to continue that tomorrow."
Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwi Match was one of the skippers who also elected to get his team in shape for the event by competing at the Internationeaux de France de Match-Racing in Pornichet and the decision was justified as he recorded a 4-1 record in 20 knot shifting winds and taking key victories over current Tour leader Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team and reigning Tour Champion, Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar. Of his good start, Jury said: "We have begun strongly like we did in St. Moritz. We're sailing the boat well and doing a good job of getting the boat around the track and not making too many mistakes. Our starts were average but the kite work down wind was good and overall we're happy.
Referring to one of his fellow competitors and second place finisher in Pornichet, Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team, Jury said: "We were frustrated in our match against Pierre-Antoine Morvan, a penalty put us behind. He just got second last week [in Pornichet] so I'm sure he'll be one to watch out for at a home regatta but we felt confident against them today.
"We're seventh in the Tour overall at the moment but with the close gap up to third, that's a realistic target for us. If we can get a good result here, I'd feel pretty good about the Monsoon Cup."
The teams will be back on the water from 1000AM local time (GMT+2) tomorrow for the second day of Qualifying at Match Race France (24 – 29 September) in Marseille, the sixth stage of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour.
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Match Race France – Standings after Qualifying Session 1:
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 5-0
Laurie Jury (NZL) Kiwi Match 4-1
Simone Ferrarese (ITA) Ferrarese Racing Team 4-2
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 4-2
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 3-2
Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 3-3
Adam Minoprio (NZL) Argo Group Black Match 2-3
William Tiller (NZL) Full Metal Jacket Racing 2-3
Damien Iehl (FRA) Wind 2 Win 2-3
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team 2-4
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 1-4
Tamara Echegoyen (ESP) Echegoyen Team 0-5
YANMAR Racing Win Five in Mistral (from YANMAR Racing)
The opening day of Match Race France saw a stunning performance from Peter Gilmour and the YANMAR Racing team. They rolled off one win after another at this, the sixth event of the 2012 Alpari World Match Racing Tour, to finish with a 5–0 scoreline and topping the leaderboard.
After yesterday's practice session was cancelled because of too much Mistral wind, the breeze was still strong for the opening session of qualifying in Marseille, and it made for some great racing. The J80 is a demanding boat to sail in the breeze, so crew work was at a premium. And with the race committee having already sailed almost half of the qualifying matches, it was also a day for fitness and stamina.
Skipper Peter Gilmour (AUS) commented, "We discussed things this morning and decided it was going to be one of those days where you don't really need to concentrate so much on the opposition. The key thing was always going to be keeping stable, and not capsizing or losing by crew error. We just concentrated on keeping the boat upright. The J80's certainly don't suit me, but when you're sailing in 20 knots of breeze, you're a hundred kilograms and you can get over the side to start swinging the boat down, it seems to work ok!"
The action opened for YANMAR Racing with Sweden's Johnie Berntsson and what could have been an uneventful win nearly wasn't, as tactician Fred Guilmin (FRA) explained, "We were faster than him, and we had a very good lead at the end of the first lap. The only problem was that we can't count to three, because it was a three-lap race and we went to the finish line after just two laps. But when we realized, we still had time to get back on the course and lead Johnie – and he still had a penalty for an early entry at the pre-start."
Next came defeats of Simone Ferrarese (FRA), and the St Moritz winner, Keith Swinton (AUS). "But the toughest race was against William Tiller," went on Guilmin. "We were after the leeward position, but Tiller got it. Fortunately, Gilly (Peter Gilmour) managed to start with a bit of separation from him and we worked hard at the trim, at hiking, and steering to survive to windward of him, where we had control. It was a very long, intense starboard tack fighting for every meter, but we managed to control him to the corner of the race course and led around the first mark."
"After that on the next leg he was just behind us and we had to take him out to the corner again. We almost had the spinnaker in the water at the end of that leg, but we managed to round the gate just in front of him. The third leg we kept the good sailing going with speed, and got the right breeze so we extended to the finishing line to win by seven lengths."
The team concluded with their fifth win against another former World Champion, Adam Minoprio. "It was a good day," concluded Guilmin, "we had a good spirit and the crew concentrated on the speed so Gilly could concentrate on the steering. There are many details to know and apply to the J80s to go fast. We hope to do the same tomorrow. The forecast is strong wind again, 25 knots from south to southeast with rain."
And so at the end of the first session of qualifying, YANMAR Racing lead with five wins and no losses from their training partner, Simone Ferrarese (ITA), and Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA), both tied on 4–2; with New Zealander Laurie Jury also on four wins, but with just a single defeat.
The racing gets underway again with the second qualifying session tomorrow at 10am, and YANMAR Racing will face last year's winner, and Fred Guilmin's old skipper, Damien Iehl.