Williams remains perfect amid light winds at Stena Match Cup Sweden

Marstrand, Sweden (July 1, 2015) – Teams were faced with soaring temperatures and challenging light air conditions today during Qualifying Session three of the Stena Match Cup Sweden in Marstrand, as the final races of the Qualifying round determine which 8 of the 14 team field will advance to the Quarter Finals.

Defending ISAF World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar remains undefeated with a 10-0 scoreline, needing just one more win from his last 3 races to finish at the top of the standings, and thus earn him first choice of his Quarter Final opponent.

“Flight 20 was the first time we have really been behind this week,” said Williams. “We had a bit of work to do, Keith [Swinton] had a pretty good lead on us at one point. But it was so fickle out there, so we focused on our own shifts and it came good for us.”

Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing sits two points behind Williams with 8 points, with Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One in third with 7 points alongside the Swedish favourites Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing, and Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team.

After his impressive performance yesterday, Berntsson faced a difficult day after being black flagged in his race against Dane Joachim Aschenbrenner, and then dropping three penalties against Taylor Canfield. As if it wasn’t enough, Berntsson then received an unfortunate knock to the head requiring him to come ashore briefly. However he and his Berntsson Sailing Team know the Marstrand waters better than any, and his Quarter Final place seems safe for now.

Fellow Swede Nicklas Dackhammar from Essiq Racing also struggled today with two losses from three races resulting in the team dropping to the lower half of the leaderboard.

“Of course we are disappointed because we are fierce competitors just like all the other teams,” added Dackhammar. “But we are happy with our performance even if we have had some ups and downs. To compete here at Marstrand this week has been a dream come true for us.”

Eleven teams from the 14 team field can technically still gain enough points to advance to the Quarter Finals, with Denmark’s Rasmus Viltoft, Austrlalia’s Sam Gilmour, and Sweden’s Anna Ostling now out of the competition.

The Round Robin stage concludes Thursday with the top eight teams advancing to the Quarter-Finals planned to begin on Friday, with the Semi-Finals and Finals scheduled on Saturday, July 4.

QUALIFYING RESULTS After Flight 20
1. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 10-0
2. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 8–5
3. Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 7-3
4. Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing 7-3
5. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 7-6
6. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Aschenbrenner Racing 6-4
7. Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox 6-4
8. Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing 6-4
9. Simone Ferrarese (ITA) Ferrarese Racing 6-7
10. Nicklas Dackhammar (SWE) Essiq Racing 6-7
11. Phil Robertson (NZL) Team TREFOR 5-5
12. Rasmus Viltoft (DEN) Team Viltof 3-7
13. Sam Gilmour (AUS) Neptune Racing 2-11
14. Anna Östling (SWE) Team Anna 0-13

Tour details – Event site – Scoreboard – Photos

Background: Stena Match Cup Sweden (Jun 29-Jul 4) is the third world championship event on the 2015-16 World Match Racing Tour, the leading professional match racing series sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). The tour has seven world championship events and a total of 19 events (details). Prize money is awarded for each event, with event points culminating in the crowning of the “ISAF Match Racing World Champion”.