Match Racing - Sun Microsystems Australia Cup 2000 - Day 4
by John Roberson 31 Mar 2000 14:57 BST
TEAM NEW ZEALAND'S BARKER BACK ON TOP AFTER DAY 4
Despite a controversy raging at back in Auckland about the future of Team
New Zealand, Dean Barker and his team are concentrating on the job in hand,
and have re-taken the top of the scoreboard at the Sun Microsystems
Australia Cup.
Barker and his crew of Hamish Pepper, Tony Rae, James Dagg and Chris Ward,
have a scoreline of 15.5 points, with 4 losses, the half point coming from
a dead-heat on Thursday with Australia's James Spithill.
The Team New Zealand crew are now assured of their place in the
semi-finals, as is Peter Gilmour and his Pizza LA team from Japan.
Within easy reach of a semi-finals place is Frenchman Bertrand Pace and Le
Defi Francais team, "we have to win one more race tomorrow (Saturday) to be
certain," he confirmed.
Making the semi-finals also helps to assure both Barker and Pace of places
in the ISAF Match Racing World Championships, the third event on the
Swedish Match Tour.
After their victory in Auckland's Steinlager Line 7 Cup last week, the Le
Defi team only need a fourth place to make the top ten on the ranking
ladder which will get them into the championships.
Barker finished third in Auckland, and a top four place here will also lift
him sufficiently to ensure a place at the world championships, to be stage
in Split, Croatia.
Gilmour too is fighting his way back up the rankings to try and qualify for
the world championships, but his eighth place last week didn't help his
quest.
The big fight on Saturday morning in this event, will be the scramble for
the one remaining semi-finals berth, with four skippers all with a chance
of filling it.
Australia's Sebastien Destremau currently has eleven wins, and is in fourth
place, Peter Holmberg of the US Virgin Islands has 10 wins, while Dane Jes
Gram-Hansen and Gordon Lucas of Australia each have 9 wins on the
scoreboard.
As the options get fewer in these double round robin eliminations, the
racing gets more vicious, with every team fighting for survival and
dollars.
Chief umpire Russell Green commented at the end of the day, "there's some
tight racing out there, and a lot of incidents, they are fighting for every
point."
SUN MICROSYSTEMS AUSTRALIA CUP 2000 - Results after Day 4
Helm Nation Won Lost
----------------------------------------------
Dean Barker New Zealand 15.5 4
Peter Gilmour Japan 14 6
Bertrand Pace France 13 6
Sebastien Destremau Australia 11 9
Peter Holmberg US Virgin Islands 10 9
Jes Gram-Hansen Denmark 9 11
Gordon Lucas Australia 9 11
Luc Pillot France 9 11
Bjorn Hansen Sweden 8 11
Magnus Holmberg Sweden 8 12
James Spithill Australia 7.5 11
Andy Green Great Britain 4 16
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