Sun Microsystems Australia Cup 2001 Overall
by John Roberson 25 Mar 2001 12:23 BST
GILMOUR TAKES A RECORD FIFTH WIN
Peter Gilmour and his Pizza La Team, representing the OneWorld America's Cup challenge, has won the Sun Microsystems Australia Cup for a record fifth time.
The Perth born and bred skipper made it look easy, as he demolished Gavin Brady sailing for Italy's Prada Challenge, in two straight races.
He has produced the most dominant performance by any skipper in the eighteen year history of the event, winning 25 races from 26 starts, over the five days.
"It feels as good as the first win," he admitted after stepping ashore, "we were sailing, obviously, particularly well this week, and it's nice to be able to keep that going all the way through to the finals.
"As the finals come, a little bit more heat gets into the oven, and you wonder how things are going to go, but we seemed to be going just as strong in the semi-finals and finals, so I was really delighted with the way the team was going."
Gilmour, whose One World Challenge is based out of Seattle, took the first encounter by 24 seconds.
In the second race he forced Brady into two infringements, and by the time the young Kiwi-turned-Italian had completed his penalty turns, Gilmour's winning margin had stretched to 42 seconds.
This is the second time in two weeks that Brady has lost a final, going down to Frenchman Bertrand Pace in Auckland's Steinlager Line 7 regatta just a week ago.
He had fought his way through to the final after a tough semi-final with Sweden's Magnus Holmberg, and was philosophical about his loss.
He said, "we came here to sail against the best in the world, and this week Peter Gilmour is the best in the world, it's all part of our training for the America's Cup."
Ken Read, from Team Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes challenge, sailing his first grade one event, took third place after a shoot out with Magnus Holmberg, who finishes fourth for the second week in a row.
However, Magnus Holmberg can take consolation from the fact that he still heads the leaderboard in the Swedish Match Grand Prix leaderboard, with three events left to sail.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Skipper | Nation |
|---|
| 1 | Peter Gilmour | USA |
| 2 | Gavin Brady | ITA |
| 3 | Ken Read | USA |
| 4 | Magnus Holmberg | SWE |
| 5 | Luc Pillot | FRA |
| 6 | Chris Dickson | USA |
| 7 | Jes-Gram Hansen | DEN |
| 8 | Neville Wittey | AUS |
| 9 | Jesper Radich | DEN |
| 10 | James Spithill | USA |
| 11 | Andy Beadsworth | GBR |
| 12 | Nicola Celon | ITA |
Semi-finals:
Peter Gilmour (USA) bt Ken Read (USA) 2 - 0
Gavin Brady (ITA) bt Magnus Holmberg (SWE) 2 - 1
Finals:
Peter Gilmour (USA) bt Gavin Brady (ITA) 2 - 0
Petit finals:
Ken Read (USA) bt Magnus Holmberg (SWE) 2 - 1
More Information: