British Sailing Success Continues as Williams wins Danish Open
News »
I
Article Date: 2008-09-01
View Count: 574
Team
Pindar’s Ian Williams yesterday claimed his first victory of the 2008 World
Match Racing Tour, with a convincing 3-0 win over Sebastian Col (French
Match Racing Team/K-Challenge)
in the final of the Danish Open in Frederikshavn.
The victory sees Williams retain the top spot on the leaderboard with 72 points,
extending his lead to 15 points, with four events
remaining.
Having
won the Round Robin stages, with 8 race wins, the British skipper and his Team
Pindar crew elected to take on Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson (Berntsson Sailing
Team) in the semi-final. It was a bold move for Williams, who had lost to
Berntsson on Thursday, however the decision paid off as the crew sealed a 3-1
victory, following a 1-1 tie overnight, to secure a place in the
final.
Sunday
saw the lightest conditions of the competition all week, with the final being
contested in winds of 8-10 knots. Having gained the advantage over Col after the
first cross in each race, Team Pindar was able to draw away, making it five wins
from five for the day.
Speaking
after the final Williams commented:
“We’re delighted. We’ve performed consistently well all season with a
2nd, 3rd and 4th from four events, so it feels
great to add a win. Everything just clicked and today, for probably the first
time all season, I felt we really raced like world champions. We’ve an intensive
few weeks racing ahead but the crew are in great shape and we’re looking forward
to St Moritz next week.”
A
total of 12 crews from 7 countries competed for a share of the $100,000 prize
money at The Danish Open. The event, which drew record
crowds, took place under blue skies all week, off the Jutlandic peninsula.
Chairman
of the Pindar Group, Andrew Pindar who attended the event
commented:
“Ian
and the crew have been training very hard over the last few months, which is
reflected by their consistent results on the water. To win in Denmark is
especially sweet, on the doorstep of one of our main rivals, as we continue to
expand the Pindar business network throughout Scandinavia.
”
The
action resumes next week for the sixth event of the tour at the St Moritz Match
Race, which takes place from 2-7 September.
Social Bookmarking
