Monsoon Cup at Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia - Day 4

ACTION ABOUNDS IN QUARTERS AT MONSOON CUP

Hansen on verge of beating Dickson, other three quarterfinal matches tied 1-1

In a surprising development, Sweden’s Björn Hansen (Team Apport.net) stands on match point in his quarterfinal series against New Zealander Chris Dickson (BMW Oracle Racing) at the Monsoon Cup, the 50th event of the Swedish Match Tour.

The pair was matched after Dickson won the round robin with a 9-2 mark and Hansen finished eighth with a 5-6 record. But in sailing conditions described as very tricky by the skippers, Hansen has a chance to defeat one of the best match-racers in sailing.

“We tried to work the shifts today. We were looking for the pressure all the time, especially when we were ahead,” said Hansen, a veteran Tour competitor seeking his first victory. “We tried not to tack off the pressure.”

The wind was from the north today, oscillating slightly to the left, and blew about 12 knots, dying as the day wore on.

“We feel a little left out with everyone else at least with one win, but we’ll be out there tomorrow and it’ll be a different day tomorrow,” said Dickson.

The three other quarterfinal matches are all square at 1-1. They feature Russell Coutts (Coutts Racing) against Ian Williams (Williams Racing Team), Peter Gilmour (PST) against Dean Barker (Emirates Team New Zealand) and Magnus Holmberg (Victory Challenge) versus Staffan Lindberg (Alandia Sailing Team).

The winner of each match is the first to 3 points.

Holmberg won a thrilling first race against Lindberg when he pulled off a penalty turn on the finish line with Lindberg barreling down at him. Holmberg picked up the penalty on the second windward leg when he tacked too close. Holmberg tacked to port on Lindberg’s lee bow but chief umpire John Standley judged that he didn’t give Lindberg room to keep clear during his maneuver.

Holmberg led around the windward mark by about three boatlengths. Lindberg seemed to make gains early on the run, but then Holmberg jibed towards the right side (looking downwind). He found a puff that propelled him to the line and got the turn off just in time.

The second race was almost more exciting than the first with the lead changing hands. Lindberg led at the first mark but Holmberg passed him on the run. Lindberg regained the lead on the second upwind when he got to the right side, and held on to even the series.

“It was hard to know which side to play,” said Holmberg. “We tacked with him coming out of the leeward mark, but he got more wind and started pulling away from us. We tacked away looking for a shift on the left, and he came with us, but the wind started lifting both of us.”

The other two series had similar storylines. Coutts won his first race against Williams when the Brit got a red-flag penalty early on the second upwind leg. Williams led around the leeward mark but Coutts was overlapped to leeward. Coutts luffed and Williams kept clear, but then the umpires judged he bore away onto Coutts and there was contact. The red flag meant Williams had to do his turn immediately, and that gave Coutts control of the match.

In the second race Williams was penalized in the pre-start, but Coutts was called over early. Coutts disputed the call, saying that if he was over so was Williams, but observers agreed Coutts was truly over early. As Coutts restarted Williams opened a lead that allowed him to do his penalty turn at the top of the first leg. He then sailed away to win.

“I wasn’t happy with either call,” said Williams. “I don’t dispute the first call, it was 50-50 and I have no issue with it going against us. But the red flag gave Coutts control and decided the race.”

Barker won his first match against Gilmour when the Aussie was over the line early. In fact both were over early, but while Barker bore away and jibed around the pin to restart Gilmour was slower clearing. Gilmour had problems starting all day long due to the strong current running onto the racecourse.

“I always have troubles starting upcurrent,” Gilmour said. “I get too the line too early.”

In their second heat Barker was over early and Gilmour opened a big early lead. He led by about 35 seconds at the first windward mark, but Barker closed that gap to 13 seconds at the leeward mark. Gilmour, however, was able to stretch his advantage on the second upwind and went on to even the series. It was his first win in four matches today.

The regatta moved into the quarterfinal round after the completion of the round robin. The final three flights of the round robin were postponed more than two and a half hours as the wind filled.

Dickson had three matches left and he won all of them, defeating Lindberg, Gilmour and Sally Barkow. Yesterday there was hope that Barkow might be able to pull off an upset, but Dickson started to windward and then camped on the women’s world match-racing champion to eliminate any chance of an upset.

The quarterfinal round is scheduled to resume tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Tomorrow’s racing will be carried live on Eurosport and ESPN Asia. Check the Swedish Match Tour Web site for times.

Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match, BMW and the Match Race Association. Swedish Match Tour Official Sponsors include Musto, Sebago and Travel Places.

For more information on the Swedish Match Tour, its competitors and events, please visit the official Tour Web site, www.SwedishMatchTour.com. Swedish Match Tour television programs may be viewed by clicking on the Tour television button on the home page of the Web site.

Monsoon Cup Quarterfinal Matches: (First to 3 points wins)

(8) Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Apport.net, 2
(1) Chris Dickson (NZL) BMW Oracle Racing, 0

(4) Russell Coutts (NZL) Coutts Racing, 1
(5) Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Racing Team, 1

(3) Dean Barker (NZL) Emirates Team New Zealand, 1
(6) Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 1

(2) Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge, 1
(7) Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 1

Monsoon Cup Round Robin Standings: (after 17 of 17 scheduled flights)

1. Chris Dickson (NZL) BMW Oracle Racing, 9-2
(Crew: Jamie Gale, Robbie Naismith, Ed Smyth, Paul Westlake)
2. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge, 8-3
(Crew: Anders Dahlsjo, Martin Krite, Lars Linger, Mattias Rahm)
3. Dean Barker (NZL) Emirates Team New Zealand, 8-3
(Crew: Don Cowie, James Dagg, Jared Henderson, Terry Hutchinson)
4. Russell Coutts (NZL) Coutts Racing Team, 7-4
(Crew: Jes Gram-Hansen, Christian Kamp, Rasmus Kostner, Jann Neergaard)
5. Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Racing Team, 7-4
(Crew: Gerry Mitchell, Mark Nichols, Guy Salter, Mark Williams)
6. Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 7-4
(Crew: Rod Dawson, Kazuhiko Sofuku, Tatsuya Wakinaga, Yasuhiro Yaji)
7. Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 6-5
(Crew: Martin Berntsson, Nils Bjerkås, Carl-Johan Uckelstam, Daniel Wallberg)
8. Björn Hansen (SWE) Team Apport.Net, 5-6
(Crew: Mattias Bredin, Andus Jonsson, Pontus Meijer, Johan Templeman)
9. Thierry Peponnet (FRA) K-Challenge, 4-7
(Crew: Benoit Briand, Herve Cunningham, Gilles Favennec, Albert Jacobsoone)
10. Francesco Bruni (ITA) Luna Rossa Challenge, 3-8
(Crew: Michele Cannoni, Gaetano Figlia de Granara, Manuel Modena, Massimiliano Sirena)
11. Cameron Dunn (NZL) Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia, 2-9
(Crew: Santino Brizzi, Cicho Chicchetti, Marco Constant, Pietro Mantovani)
12. Sally Barkow (USA) Team 7, 1-10
(Crew: Sofia Bekatorou, Debbie Capozzi, Chafee Emory, Carrie Howe, Annie Lush)