Asian Match Racing Championship - Tiller qualifies for the Monsoon Cup

11:42 AM Sat 15 Oct 2011 GMT

'Will Tiller and his Full Metal Jacket Racing Team after winning the finals of the Asian Match Racing Championships 2011' Gareth Cooke - Subzero Images &copy Click Here to view large photo

Asian Match Racing Championship (AMRC), which took place at Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort and Spa in Pulau Duyong, Kuala Terengganu, has been won by William Tiller (Full Metal Jacket Racing).

Performing consistently during the qualifying rounds and semi-finals, Tiller took the championship title after defeating arch rival David Gilmour (Team Gilmour), son of four-time World Match Racing Tour champion, Dato' Peter Gilmour. Tiller wins the last qualifier spot at the Monsoon Cup, which takes place from 22nd to 27th November 2011 at the same venue.

The AMRC semi-finals continued today with Tiller off to a flying start when he conquered the pre-starts collecting point after point in his first three matches. Earlier, Tiller had predicted that he would meet Corbett in the finals. He told, 'It's classic Reuben style. He starts slow but keeps getting better and just scrapes in, and then he's dangerous.'

But that wasn't to be as Gilmour had the same luck as Tiller, dominating the pre-starts to claim a 3-0 win against Reuben Corbett (AON Racing). This put the Aussie skipper in the running for the chance to sail at the Monsoon Cup. Meanwhile Seah Chin Yew (Zoke Kiwi Match) was left to fight it out with Corbett at the petit finals.

Warm sunshine and a breeze ranging from 8-10 knots greeted Tiller and Gilmour as they went into the finals in preparation for a duel on the water. Tiller was assigned the boat sponsored by Malaysia Airlines while Gilmour sailed off in the Visit Terengganu boat. Gilmour led the pre-start of the first match and subsequently accelerated while Tiller tried to keep pace. A tacking duel ensued but Gilmour managed to keep his lead and crossed the finish line 10 boat lengths ahead of Tiller.

In the second match, Tiller earned an early penalty at the pre-start but succeeded at extending his lead putting pressure on Gilmour to close the gap. Tiller sailed towards the wrong mark followed by Gilmour who could have overtaken Tiller if he had gone to the right mark. With a penalty to finish, Tiller extended his lead, cleared the penalty and finished ahead of Gilmour by eight boat lengths.

It was however the best of five or the first to win three matches so the game was not over yet. Tiller won the next match by one minute and three seconds, increasing the pressure on Gilmour. Tiller started slow off the start line but was able to take back control of the race and crossed the finish line ahead of Gilmour by 13 seconds in an epic win.

Gilmour was pretty disappointed that this was his second year losing at the finals but was still happy with his team's performance considering that hadn't had much practice while Tiller's team has been sailing all year. 'We had the good starts but we just couldn't get into the swing of things because of the shifty winds.'

But it wasn't an easy win for Tiller. He said, 'David definitely pushed us the whole way. We had a bad race on the first start but we came back on fire on the next two. The last one was close but we split him at the mark which gave us a two boat length lead.'

Tiller's win continues the Kiwi's winning streak at the AMRC. 'Yeah, it's awesome to see all of us on the world stage. We can't wait to get back here in three weeks time to race again. It's not about the prize money but going into the World Tour. It's really awesome and a good opportunity for us.'

Final Standings
1. William Tiller (NZL) - Full Metal Jacket Racing
2. David Gilmour (AUS) - Team Gilmour
3. Reuben Corbett (NZL) - AON Racing
4. Seah Chin Yew (HK) - Zoke Kiwi Match
5. Peter Nicholas (AUS) - Freshie Racing Team
6. Maximilian Soh (SIN) - Send It Sideways
7. Joe Howe (SIN) - TEAM JH

The three teams on the podium after the finals of the Asian Match Racing Championships 2011 - Gareth Cooke - Subzero Images &copy Click Here to view large photo

Will Tiller and his Full Metal Jacket Racing Team after winning the finals of the Asian Match Racing Championships 2011 - Gareth Cooke - Subzero Images &copy Click Here to view large photo

Monsoon Cup website

by Monsoon Cup Media