Former ISAF match racing Champion, Ian Williams starts 2010 Campaign

3:41 AM Sat 1 May 2010 GMT

'Ian Williams Sail Bahrain races Ben Ainslie teamOrigin at Match Race Germany 2009' Richard Walch &copy

Ian Williams, Great Britain's first ever ISAF Match Racing World Champion, will start his 2010 Tour Campaign at stage two, Match Race Germany.

Ian Williams (GBR) Sail Bahrain won the coveted title back in 2007 and then repeated the feat in 2008. Beaten by the newest match race rock star, Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing last year at the Monsoon Cup, Williams has a point to prove in 2010 to ultimately win back his Tour crown.

Match Race Germany, stage two of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour will start Williams' 2010 campaign where he will be sailing under the new team name 'Sail Bahrain'.

Top contenders that Ian Williams will have to fight through to make the finals on Lake Constance include; stage one winner, Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team - the youngest tour card holder who will be celebrating his 24th birthday during Germany, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team - Bj?rn Hansen (SWE) who will be competing under the team name Gill Global Team for stage two - fellow Swede and sailing legend Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge as well as Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo formerly involved with South African America's Cup syndicate Shosholoza.

Ian Williams will also have to consider the wild card entries at Langenargen as Match Race Germany have selected these places through strict qualifying guidelines. Qualifying for this World Championship Series took place at the 2009 German National Match Racing Championships and the Berlin Match Race 2009.

One wild card entry, Kathrin Kadelbach (GER) EWE Sailing Team will be the first female skipper to ever compete in Match Race Germany. She will be backed up by a male crew as well as tactician Ulrike Sch?mann, renowned as one of Germany's top female racers, with two Olympic campaigns under her belt and over the last year has started training towards the 2012 Games to be held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

It will be a tight round robin at Match Race Germany and will be a test for Williams against the likes of Hansen and Holmberg as well as the come-back kids Minoprio and Mirsky who did not make the finals in Marseille for stage one. Mirsky has continued his match race training dedication, currently competing at 'Open de Espana Match Race' while Minoprio has been looking at his 2011 offshore plans.

Ian Williams said, "I am looking forward to being back on the ISAF Match Racing World Tour for 2010, I have enjoyed this World Championship sailing series for the last five years, since I decided to commit fully to professional sailing. I feel ready and confident to get started on my 2010 Tour campaign this May."

by WMRT Media

Newsfeed supplied by

#News #Sailing

Former ISAF match racing Champion, Ian Williams starts 2010 Campaign

Sports/News

Weather Forecasts & Live Reports

Buy & Sell/Classifieds