Into the semis

Williams misses out as Baird, Cian, Spithill and Richard make it to the semi-finals of the World Match Racing Championship

Two matches and two wins, that’s the score at the end of the day for Team Luna Rossa's James Spithill, who is racing against Mattieu Richard, and for Ed Baird, against Paolo Cian. After a best of five for each pair, the winner will get to sail in the final tomorrow.

Perfect conditions, 15 to 20 knots, made possible to do the eight remaining flights plus two matches of the semifinals. Spithill, Cain, Baird and Richard passed to the semifinals. Spithill, who was first of the round robin, with the same number of points as Cian, 8, chose to race against Richard, fourth with 7 points. Cian had to face Baird.

At the first match Spithill beat Richard and Baird beat Cian. The next match was a repetition of the first one. The best of five will be decided tomorrow, as the Committee decided to stop at 20:00. The first match was raced with 12 knots, while at the second one the wind had gone up to 20 with squalls of 25.

In the first match of the day’s first flight Hansen beat Col to add a point at his list. Nevertheless this point would be the last one for the Swede, who couldn't’t be at the semifinal. Col, who started the day second, couldn't’t add a point today and finished the Championship with 5 points. Ed Baird, defender of the Title, seems to have emerged from a Rull beginning and today has added four victories of the 7 he finished the round robin with. Williams closed the flight by getting a point against Richard.

At the next match Ed Baird stroke again, this time by putting Hansen out of the game. Williams got the next point, against Col, and López-Vazquez fell against Richard. The Spanish finished his first Match Race World Championship with just one victory, against Spithill. Nevgodnikov, who started hard at the beginning, finished today as well, although today has beat Peter Gilmour. Lindberg has been the first one to beat Cian in this Championship.

The next flight started with Presti, who only had two points from previous days, adding one more to his score. Then he started a winning strike that let him finishing the Championship with 5 points. His first victim was Lindberg. Next match took Cian to his second defeat, this time against Nevgodnikov at his last match of the week. Spithill added one more point against Hansen.

Gilmour, Spithill and Presti won Richard, Williams and Col respectively at the next flight.

So far, it was clear that Cian and Spithill would both race the semifinals, whilst there were three candidates to be the other two opponent: Richard, Williams and Baird.

Cian notched up a point by beating Sebastian . Then it was Richard’s turn to get another point on the board after handing a beating to Presti. The next math had two heavyweight racers face to face, number one Peter Gilmour, against so far World Champion, Ed Baird. It was Baird who got the point, leaving Gilmour ready to go back home with five victories overall.

Last flight it was decisive. Richard’s victory against Cian gave the young French, third of the World Nanking, the passport to the semifinals. Lindberg got his last point against Williams. Baird finished the round robin by beating Presti.

ROUND ROBIN (Day 4)

Flight 1
Hansen beats Col
Baird beats López-Vázquez
Williams beats Richard

Flight 2
Baird beats Hansen
Williams beats Col
Richard beats López-Vázquez

Flight 3
Nevgodnikov beats Gilmour
Lindberg beats Cian

Flight 4
Presti beats Nevgodnikov
Gilmour beats Lindberg
Spithill beats Cian

Flight 5
Presti beats Lindberg
Cian beats Nevgodnikov
Spithill beats Hansen

Flight 6
Gilmour beats Richard
Spithill beats Williams
Presti beats Col


Flight 7
Cian beats Col
Richard beats Presti
Baird beats Gilmour

Flight 8
Richard beat Cian
Lindberg beat Williams
Baird beat Presti


Results - end of round robin

1. James Spithill (AUS), 8 pts (11 matches)
2. Paolo Cian (ITA), 8 pts (11 matches)
3. Ed Baird (USA), 7 pts (11 matches)
4. Mathieu Richard (FRA), 7 pts (11 matches)
5. Ian Williams (GBR), 6 pts (11 matches)
6. Evgeny Nevgodnikov (RUS), 5 pts (11 matches)
7. Peter Gilmour (AUS), 5 pts (11 matches)
8. Sebastien Col (FRA), 5 pts (11 matches)
9. Staffan Lindberg (FIN), 5 pts (11 matches)
10. Philippe Presti (FRA), 5 pts (11 matches)
11. Björn Hansen (SWE), 4 pts (11 matches)
12. Santi López-Vázquez (ESP), 1 punto (11 matches)