One race to go at Star Worlds

Not quite a done deal for Percy and Simpsom just yet

British sailors Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson are within striking distance of winning the Star World Championship, currently taking place outside Guanabara Bay. The reigning Olympic champions finished in fourth place in the Rio de Janeiro Regatta and only didn’t win the title on Wednesady because Swiss sailors Flavio Marazzi and Enrico De Maria managed to finish in 6th place, after rounding the second last buoy in ninth position. As a result, the decision has been postponed to the final race this Thursday.

Iain Percy reluctantly admitted his advantage. "We are in a very comfortable position, with only 9 points lost. Our tactic in the final race will depend on the wind and some other factors. We will study the conditions before deciding," he commented. "If we decide on a match race against the Swiss, we will be very confident. I have experience in the America's Cup and other boat to boat regattas."

Marazzi and De Maria guarantee that they will be sailing for gold on Thursday. "We are going to sail the best regatta we can. It's not entirely up to us, but we have to believe in it," said Marazzi, who with his fellow team member De Maria currently leads the Star World Championship ranking, with 17 lost points.

Today's race was once again 10.5 nautical miles long (approx. 19.4 km), with three windward-leeward rounds. Winds ranged between 8 to 10 knots, in an easterly and southeasterly direction. The Brazilians sailors also had a great race, with five teams finishing in the top ten.

Lars Grael and Ronald Seifert finished the race in second place, behind winners Rick Merriman and Phil Trinter, from the USA. "For a team that started in 35th place, a second place finish in the second last race is a great result. We have been improving every day," noted the sailor, who is seventh in the overall ranking. "It's very satisfying to be among the first ten teams. The Brazilians have proven that the level of Star sailing in Brazil is very high."

Wednesday was another sunny and hot day in Rio de Janeiro, with temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius. Just as in the previous races, the race course was set up between Pai e Mãe Island, near Niteroi, and Leme Point, in Rio de Janeiro.

Race 5
1- Rick Merriman / Phil Trinter (USA) - 1
2- Lars Grael / Ronald Seifert (BRA) - 2
3- Torben Grael / Marcelo Ferreira (BRA) - 3
4- Iain Percy / Andrew Simpson (GBR) - 4
5- Robert Scheidt / Bruno Prada (BRA) - 5
6- Flavio Marazzi / Enrico De Maria (SWI) - 6
7- Juan Kouyoumdjian / Alejandro Colla (ARG) - 7
8- Gastão Brun / Gustavo Kunze (BRA) - 8
9- Alan Adler / Guilherme de Almeida (BRA) - 9
10- Marin Lovrovic / Sinisa Mikulicic (CRO) - 10

				R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
	Skipper	Crew		Pos.	Pos.	Pos.	Pos.	Pos.	Overall
1	Percy, Iain	Simpson, Andrew	GBR	2	11	2	1	4	9,0
2	Marazzi, Flavio	De Maria, Enrico	SUI	30	1	6	4	6	17,0
3	Adler, Alan	Almeida, Guilherme	BRA	6	5	11	13	9	31,0
4	Babendererde, Johannes	Jacobs, Timo	GER	1	8	39	8	15	32,0
5	Scheidt, Robert	Prada, Bruno	BRA	3	19	50	5	5	32,0
6	Grael, Torben	Ferreira, Marcelo	BRA	5	25	21	7	3	36,0
7	Grael, Lars	Seifert, Ronald	BRA	35	15	12	10	2	39,0
8	Melleby, Eivind	Morland Pedersen, Petter	NOR	9	10	4	16	16	39,0
9	Kouyoumdjian, Juan	Colla, Alejandro	ARG	4	30	8	22	7	41,0
10	Negri, Diego	Colaninno, Fernando	ITA	23	18	5	6	13	42,0
11	Rohart, Xavier	Ponsot, Pierre Alexis	FRA	66	14	1	18	12	45,0
12	Loof, Fredrik	Tillander, Johan	SWE	8	9	18	19	11	46,0
13	Brun, Gastao	Kunze, Gustavo	BRA	21	7	15	48	8	51,0
14	Macdonald, Ross	Lekszycki, Andre	CAN	10	13	14	15	20	52,0
15	Campbell, Andrew	Nichol, Brad	USA	12	3	24	26	14	53,0
16	Lovrovic, Marin	Mikulicic, Sinisa	CRO	17	34	13	14	10	54,0
17	Merriman, Rick	Trinter, Phil	USA	49	36	17	2	1	56,0
18	Mirsky, Andre	Jordao, Marcelo	BRA	33	6	22	3	35	64,0
19	Stanjek, Robert	Stanjek, Philipp	GER	14	12	27	23	19	68,0
20	Schlonski, Alexander	Kleen, Frithjof	GER	24	2	BFD	20	24	70,0
21	Polgar, Johannes	Koy, Markus	GER	26	4	42	24	17	71,0
22	Rigoni, Alejo	Percossi, Juan Pablo	ARG	29	31	7	12	26	74,0
23	Lima, Gustavo	Nankin, Charles	POR	7	BFD	9	46	21	83,0
24	Treacy, Max	Shanks, Anthony	IRL	13	32	33	9	30	84,0
25	Domingos, Afonso	Melo, Frederico	POR	25	29	16	17	28	86,0
26	Bodra, Fabio Barbosa	Lopes, Arthur	BRA	20	24	19	45	23	86,0
27	Cunha, Renato	Mascarenhas, Marcos	BRA	34	27	3	33	42	97,0
28	Poggi, Giampiero	Corsi, Manlio	ITA	22	23	20	38	34	99,0
29	Mendelblatt, Mark	Von Schwarz, John	USA	44	17	25	31	27	100,0
30	Miller, Matthias	Wenk, Benedikt	GER	62	20	31	25	25	101,0
31	Papathanasiou, Emilios	Papastefanou, Pachos	GRE	16	49	30	11	45	102,0
32	Labandeira, Julio	Thompson, Valentin	ARG	15	26	23	43	39	103,0
33	Szabo, George	Peters, Rick	USA	53	39	10	42	22	113,0
34	Celon, Nicola	Natucci, Edoardo	ITA	41	21	43	21	31	114,0
35	Pascolato, Alessandro	Boening, Henry	BRA	28	22	51	30	44	124,0
36	Ficker, Peter	Oliveira, Ubiratan	BRA	19	33	56	28	46	126,0
37	King, John A Spear	MacPherson, Norman	BRA	11	56	45	27	BFD	139,0
38	Raulino, Guilherme	Lagoa, Marco	BRA	51	16	48	39	36	139,0
39	Lovrovic, Dan	Arapovic, Antonio	CRO	27	37	44	50	32	140,0
40	Boggi, Lucio	Lambertenghi, Sergio	ITA	43	BFD	28	32	38	141,0
41	Carabelli, Horacio	Ilha, Fernando	BRA	57	46	40	40	18	144,0
42	Razmilovic, Ante	Hammersley, Brian	GBR	40	40	38	58	29	147,0
43	Hornos, Tomas	Hornos, Luis	USA	39	48	32	44	33	148,0
44	Echavarri Erasum, Fernando	Rodriguez Rivero, Fernando	ESP	18	BFD	29	65	37	149,0
45	Gimson, John	Greig, Ed	GBR	37	41	37	36	BFD	151,0
46	Santoni, Silvio	Toccoli, Fabio	ITA	32	43	BFD	35	47	157,0
47	Cramer, Brian	Johnston, Matt	CAN	31	52	41	37	54	161,0
48	Augelli, Marco	Rocca, Leone	ITA	DSQ	42	49	29	43	163,0
49	Zimmermann, Lorenz	Hollweg, Nils	SUI	56	60	26	41	61	183,0
50	Gonzaga Neto, Admar	Figueiredo de Freita, Alexandre	BRA	46	47	52	54	41	186,0
51	Raulino, Gabriel	Camargo Rosas, Juliano	BRA	59	54	35	49	51	189,0
52	Conrad, Reinaldo	Pomerantzeff, Paulo André	BRA	45	50	46	DNF	48	189,0
53	Simeone, Luca	La Porta, Manuele	ITA	42	62	36	60	52	190,0
54	Della Torre, Daniel	Barroso, Julian Gazari	ARG	60	28	54	53	59	194,0
55	Fornaro, Andrea	Tarabella, Andrea	ITA	48	35	63	63	50	196,0
56	Tomasini Grinover, Roberto	Bahr, Gunnar	AUT	55	44	55	51	56	205,0
57	Almeida Reis, Luiz André	Moura, Renato	BRA	64	58	34	57	BFD	213,0
58	Bueno, Mauricio	Zarif, Jorge Joao	BRA	69	45	58	55	55	213,0
59	Bonanni, Claude	Burgess, Richard	USA	36	BFD	61	64	53	214,0
60	Della Torre, Gerardo	Latour, Guillermo	ARG	67	38	59	52	BFD	216,0
61	Gautschi, Christoph	Koenig, Juerg	SUI	70	61	65	34	57	217,0
62	de Barros, Patrick M.	Plantier Santos, Bernardo	POR	63	57	60	47	58	222,0
63	Perez, Jorge Oscar	Tufarolo, Marcelo	ARG	54	55	53	70	60	222,0
64	Rauch, Hubert	Schappeler, Ingo	GER	52	51	64	61	BFD	228,0
65	Erac, Branislav	Tosic, Ozren	SRB	47	66	57	71	63	233,0
66	Gimeno, Pablo	Calegari, Frederico	CHI	38	65	RDG	66	BFD	235,0
67	Castro, Cezar	Montezuma, Afonso	BRA	68	53	47	67	BFD	235,0
68	Graciotti, Vincenzo	Cisbani, Paolo	ITA	DNS	64	66	56	49	235,0
69	Siemsen, Francisco	Floricke, Manfredo	BRA	65	BFD	BFD	69	40	248,0
70	Irrera, Renato	Cristaldini, Corrado	ITA	58	67	62	62	BFD	249,0
71	Caruso, Bruno Manzoli	Bremer, Rolf	BRA	71	59	67	59	64	249,0
72	de Almeida, Joao Marcos	Bunge, Manuel	BRA	61	63	BFD	68	65	257,0
73	Goretkin, Sergio	Cruz, Renato	BRA	50	DSQ	DNS	DNS	62	260,0

Event site here