European Match Race Tour 2017 Event 5 in Poland
by Helmut Czasny-Bonomo 30 May 2017 00:45 BST
7-9 April 2017
Szczecin Match Cup © 2017 EMRT / PMT
Polish skipper Patryk Zbroja sealed his second victory at an European Match Race Tour event with a clean sheet over World #7 Oli-Pekka Lumijärvi. Rafal Sawik finished on home waters on the podium while compatriot Szymon Szymik finished in fourth place at the Grade 2 event held at Poland's Baltic town of Szczecin.
Outstanding racing conditions welcomed the nine teams for the fifth event of the European Match Race Tour 2017. Organized by the Polish Match Tour, World Sailing added even more expertise by joining the traditional event with an International Umpire's Seminar.
Zbroja, who already won the Vienna City Match Race in April, showed consistency and perfect team work on the way to his second victory this year. With a clear 3-0 over Finland's Lumijärvi, Zbroja lifts himself into top contender position for the yellow jersey at Copenhagen, where he will meet the leader of the 2017 Tour, the Frenchman Simon Bertheau.
Bertheau is still on top of the leader board with a maximum score of 150 points ahead of Slovenia's Dejan Presen (110 points) and Polish skipper Patryk Zbroja (100 points). The European Match Race tour will now reach its northern summit at Copenhagen in June before heading to Germany's Ploen in August. The top eight skippers will qualify for the Grand Final which will take place in Ravenna from 8 – 10 September 2017.
Standings after Event 5: (top 15)
| Pos | Skipper | Nat | Event 1 | Event 2 | Event 3 | Event 4 | Event 5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Simon Bertheau | FRA . | 50 | 50 | | 50 | | 150 |
| 2 | Dejan Presen | SLO | 40 | 35 | 35 | | | 110 |
| 3 | Patryk Zbroja | POL | | | 50 | | 50 | 100 |
| 4 | Christian Binder | AUT | 30 | 30 | 40 | | | 100 |
| 5 | Vladimir Lipavsky | RUS | 35 | 40 | | | | 75 |
| 6 | Helmut Czasny | AUT | | | 25 | 30 | | 55 |
| 7 | Teo Piasevoli | CRO | 20 | 20 | | | | 40 |
| 8 | Francois Brenac | FRA . | | | | 40 | | 40 |
| 10 | Rocco Attilli | ITA | | | | 35 | | 35 |
| 11 | Piotr Harasimowics | POL | 15 | | | 15 | 5 | 35 |
| 13 | Adam Smith | AUS | | | 30 | | | 30 |
| 15 | Dore De Morsier | SUI | | 25 | | | | 25 |