Match Racing

Mathieu Richard Wins the 'King of the Mountain' Title in Spectacular Style

St. Moritz, Switzerland - 5 September 2010 - Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team won the 'King of the Mountain' title today in spectacular style, taking a huge stride towards his quest to become the 2010 ISAF Match Racing World Champion.

Having toyed with the teams all week at the St. Moritz Match Race, it was on the final day that the Maloja wind truly kicked in, bringing with it a supreme display of match racing for which the ISAF World Match Racing Tour is renowned. Richard, despite not always being on top of his game throughout the week, knuckled down when it mattered most, grinding out a series of hard-fought victories against his nearest rivals today.

When the two British skippers, triple Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN and double ISAF Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar won their first semi-final matches, the prospects looked good for an all-British final. However, Richard had no intention of playing second fiddle and led Ainslie all the way round the course in their next race to level the score.

It was standing room only in the packed grandstands and with everything hanging on the final race of both semi-final matches, the crowds of spectators were in for a treat. A dogfight before each of the starts characterized the races. With a penalty to his name in his deciding semi-final battle against Ainslie, it appeared Richard's only option as they approached the final mark was a brutal one - to pin a penalty on Ainslie. Fortunately for Richard, his Blu26 found a gust, giving him enough time to complete his penalty turn and dispense with the Brit.

Meanwhile, in the Williams vs Minoprio bout Williams took the first match, but Minoprio responded in the second with a move at the windward mark, where Williams collected two penalties in rapid succession, allowing Minoprio to take a decisive victory. Williams though regained his composure for the final race of his dual with the New Zealander, with just enough control over Minoprio to maintain a slim lead to the finish and a place in the final.

The scene was set for a fitting British-French finale, with the title going to the first team to win two races. This was sailing's version of 'Le Crunch'. At times, both played underdog, exchanging glances and penalties. It was one all after two races and in the deciding race, it seemed only right that the wind, so unpredictable and challenging all week, should have the final say. Richard, playing a string of gusts and shifts to perfection, pulling five lengths clear, a lead he maintained to take the 'King of the Mountain' crown and CHF36,000 in prize money.

Richard, reflected: "I wasn't happy after losing the first race against Ian in the finals. I was too excited, made mistakes and didn't have a positive feeling. So, we picked ourselves up, changed our mood and took the match to them. We go to Denmark with a healthy lead however we know there is still all to play for. For now though, we're overjoyed."

As the Tour heads to the island of Bornholm, Denmark, next week, it is possible that the next few weeks will determine not just the outcome of this year's World Match Racing Tour but also shape the future of match racing with the America's Cup announcements that have been a hot topic all week in St. Moritz. Whatever the outcome, Richard and his rivals will remain focused on their endeavours to take the World Match Racing Tour title.

To view the 'Play of the Day' - Williams collecting two penalties against Minoprio, click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQEuRU4HumU

Overall Standings the 2010 St. Moritz Match Race:

Skipper/Teams Points

1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 25

2 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 20

3 Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing 15

4 Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 12

5 Bertrand Pace (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team 10

6 Björn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team 8

7 Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 6

8 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 4

9 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team

10 Eric Monnin (SUI) Swiss Match Race Team

11 Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team

12 Jerome Clerc (SUI) Team CER Geneve

For fans around the world, the St. Moritz Match Race will be featured in a TV highlights programme called The St Moritz Match Race. Featuring all the action from Lake St. Moritz, it will premiere on Eurosport at 21.35 on 6 October and also show on Eurosport Asia Pacific at 13.45 on 13 October. The programme will be screened on Sky Sports 3 at 18.00 on 22 October.

The St. Moritz Match Race highlights show will be broadcast on channels across the globe including CNBC, Setanta, Showtime, Sky NZ, Sevenload, Yacht and Sail International, America One, ESPN Star Sports, PCTV Mexico, Melita Cable, Bands Sports Brazil as well as local Swiss broadcaster Teleclub. The latest TV schedule for all the races can be viewed at: http://www.wmrt.com/multimedia/tv-schedules.html

*Note: times are subject to change without notification

- Ends -

2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings

(After Stage 6 of 9)

1. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 96 Points
2. Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 72 Points

3. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 69 Points

4. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 60 Points

5. Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 57 Points
6. Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 45 Points

7. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 43 Points

8. Jesper Radich (DEN) Radich Racing Team                              40 Points
9. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Sigma Racing Team                         29 Points
10. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team                             23 Points

www.stmoritz-matchrace.ch

And this from BlackMatch:

Hi all from BlackMatch,

The wind failed to come to the party early this morning and with a tight programme to get through on the final day, the quarterfinals were called at 1 nil and we qualified for the semi final. Top qualifying Ian Williams chose to race us, which left Ben Ainslie to take on Mathieu Richard in the other semi final match up.

By midday a great thermal breeze had built and the afternoon saw some amazing action with the tightest racing seen all week. Unfortunately we lost our semi final to Ian Williams 2-1 after three very exciting matches while Mathieu Richard dispatched Ben Ainslie also 2-1.

This left us to take on Ben Ainslie and his Team Origin in the petit final which was a one race winner takes all affair, in blustery conditions. Following a busy prestart which saw us handed a somewhat cheap penalty in the dial up, we managed to get the start we wanted and head towards the left side of the course which was what we thought would be favoured. Ben opted for the right side of the course and by the top mark we had gained a healthy lead, although we still had an outstanding penalty. Winds up to 20 knots and short courses combined to test the crews and the British team were always in contention, but as we built on our lead nearing the final top mark, we decided to do our penalty turn at the finish line, which provided a nail biting finish for spectators. We came surfing toward the finish line and executed a nice penalty turn while Ben came storming in, however we just managed to complete our turn and cross the line mere boat lengths in front, to secure 3^rd position.

Despite feeling disappointed with not being able to defend our King of the Mountain title here in St Moritz, we are still happy with the result, especially after a decisive win against the formidable Ben Ainslie. Mathieu and his team took out the final 2-1 over Ian Williams and have extended their lead on the overall World Tour standings, while Ian Williams has leap frogged into 2^nd position leaving us in 3^rd. For now Mathieu Richard looks to be the favourite to take out the overall championship, however we are still very much in contention and will be looking to chase him down over the next couple of events, starting in Denmark next week.

For any media or results please visit www.worldmatchracingtour.com.

We would again like to say a special thank you to our sponsors FedEx Express and Events Clothing/Line 7. Owen Rutter from Events Clothing has supplied us with new sailing gear this season, keeping the boys looking very sharp and also warm up here in the cold mountains. The ongoing support of our sponsors is helping make this opportunity possible for the BlackMatch boys. We would also like to thank Emirates Team New Zealand and Steinlager Pure.

BlackMatch Racing this week is Adam Minoprio, Tom Powrie, David Swete and Nick Blackman