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| PORTUGAL MATCH CUP OPENS IN 12-KNOT WINDS |
Mathieu Richard (foreground) and Lotte Meldgaard at the start of their Flight 3 match, won by Meldgaard. (Imagepress photo)
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High-fives for the girls after beating Mathieu Richard. (Imagepress photo)
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Chris Dickson (left) and Chris Law work upwind off the seawall at the Marina Cascais. (Imagepress photo)
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CASCAIS, Portugal (July 19, 2006) — Stage 1 of the 2006-‘07 World Match Racing Tour season, the Portugal Match Cup, today kicked off in the Bay of Cascais with the only women’s team scoring a win against Mathieu Richard in Group A.
The 3rd annual Portugal Match Cup features 12 teams competing for a $100,000 prize purse, with $30,000 earmarked for the champion. Racing off the Cascais city front, the event is being held in SM40s, the Pelle Petterson-designed match-racer for the World Tour.
The 12 teams have been split into two groups of six. Chris Dickson (NZL), BMW Oracle Racing, and Thierry Peponnet (FRA), Areva Challenge, both went 3-0 in Group A to lead.
In Group B, Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia, Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Victory Challenge, and Staffan Lindberg (FIN), Alandia Sailing Team, are tied at 2-1.
The groups each sail a five-flight round robin. The top three advance to the quarterfinals and the bottom three to a repechage round, from which the top two advance to the quarters.
The wind was blowing from the north around 12 knots. That direction on the Bay of Cascais is very shifty and no lead today was safe. Competitors rolled over the top of each other in private breeze lines.
Meldgaard, who posted a 3-8 record at the 2004 Danish Open, won entry to the event by winning the Portugal Women’s Cup last weekend. The event was plagued by light winds and Meldgaard won on a countback.
Meldgaard dropped her first two races of the PMC, but closed the day with a nice win over Richard, the Frenchman who placed 9th in 2006 World Championship. Meldgaard coverd well at the start, gained on the second windward leg to roll over Richard, taking the ladies to a much celebrated first win.
“I think we had an exciting match,” said Meldgaard. “We were close more or less all the way round the course. It was good to get them at last. We do what we can and that’s it.”
A highlight of Dickson’s three-win day was his match against Law. A lively pre-start saw Dickson win the right side of the racecourse. He played it to win the match for a 3-0 record. Peponnet, tied with Dickson, rolled Law on the run to the finish in the previous flight.
In Group B, long-time Tour competitors Gram-Hansen, Holmberg and Lindberg each went 2-1. Lindberg, however, holds the upper hand among the three with victories against each. The final flight of the round robin will be a teller with Gram-Hansen racing Holmberg and Lindberg against Ian Williams (GBR), Williams Sail Racing. The two placed third and second, respectively, in the 2006 World Championship, an order decided on the last day of the season.
“We won in the first one, we were not very far ahead, but we were ahead all the time, I’d say,” said Lindberg. “Then we lost to the local hero (Alvaro Marinho). He did a good job, he picked the right side of the course and he won. In the third, we were trailing Magnus for a quite a long time but in the end on the last beat we managed to pass him which was very nice and extend slightly on the last run to the finish so we were very happy.”
The World Tour Partner and Official Car is BMW AG (Munich, Germany). World Tour sponsors include Sebago (Rockford, Mich.), the Official Footwear Supplier, Travel Places (West Sussex, England), the Official Travel Partner and Wedgwood (Cheshire, England) the Official Trophy Supplier.
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Portugal Match Cup Opens in 12-Knot Winds
RELATED CONTENT
Portugal Match Cup Photo Gallery
Portugal Match Cup Flight Schedule
Portugal Match Cup Event Summary
Portugal Match Cup Regatta Announcement (July 18, 2006)
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE WORLD TOUR
Sean McNeill
Director of Public Relations
Tel: +1 401 662 1501
E-mail: smcneill@f10marketing.com
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT PORTUGAL MATCH CUP
Ana Lima
Tel: +351 917 776 018
E-mail: alc@alcomunicacao.pt
Paula Martins
Tel: +351 917 776 019
E-mail: alc@alcomunicacao.pt
PORTUGAL MATCH CUP PROVISIONAL ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS
Group A (After 3/5 Flights)
1. Chris Dickson (NZL) BMW Oracle Racing, 3-0
(Crew: Zack Hurst, Jann Neergaard Kazuhiko Sofuku, Paul Westlake
T. Thierry Peponnet (FRA) Areva Challenge, 3-0
(Crew: Tanguy Cariou, Benoit Briand, Hervé Cunningham, Thierry Douillard)
3. Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 1-2
(Crew: Rod Dawson, Christian Scherrer, Ed Smyth, Yasuhiro Yaji)
T. Lotte Meldgaard (DEN) HSH Nordbank, 1-2
(Crew: Inge Ebbensgaard, Nina Grunow, Anne Mirup-Petersen, Mia Nielsen, Christina Refn)
T. Mathieu Richard (FRA) Saba Sailing Team, 1-2
(Crew: Greg Evrard, Olivier Herledant, Jean-Philippe Saliou, Yannick Simon)
6. Chris Law (GBR) The Outlaws, 0-3
(Crew: Matt Cornwell, Charles Nankin, Piotr Przybylski, Henrik Walderyd)
Group B (After 3/5 Flights)
1. Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN) Mascalzone Latino –Capitalia Team, 2-1
(Crew: Matteo Auguadro, Pierluigui Defelice, Rasmus Kostner, Chresten Plinius)
T. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge, 2-1
(Crew: Anders Dahlsjò, Lars Linger, Mal Parker, Stefan Rahm)
T. Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 2-1
(Crew; Nils Bjerkas, Niklas Carlzon, Carl-Johan Skoterstan, Daniel Wallberg)
4. Przemek Tarnacki (POL) Tarnacki Racing/Sopot MR Center, 1-2
(Crew: Marcin Banaszek, Pawel Goski, Zbigniew Gutkowski, Miroslaw Szynczak)
T. Álvaro Marinho (POR) Quebramar Match Racing Team, 1-2
(Crew: Rúbrio Basílio, Antonio Fontes, Miguel Nunes, Diogo Pereira)
T. Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Sail Racing, 1-2
(Crew: Laurie Jury, Mark Nicholls, Richard Sydenham, Mark Williams)
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