Kick off in Marseille

Seb Col and his K-Challenge team will be in home waters for the first event of the 2009 World Match Racing Tour next month

Sebastien Col and his K-Challenge team is again lining up to take on the top teams on this year's World Match Racing Tour. Col's goal is to reach what he missed out on last year by just a few points: the Match Racing World Champion title.

For Col and his team the season starts on a personal high with the Marseille International Match Race, which this year for the first time forms the first official event of the World Match Racing Tour.

The event will take place over 9-14 March off Marseille, organized with the support of YCPR (Yachting Club de la Pointe Rouge), which is Sebastien Col's yacht club.

Six teams are already qualified thanks to the new World Tour cards for all the World Tour's events. These are:
1. Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar – 2 x defending ISAF Match Racing World Champion.
2. Sébastien Col (FRA)French Team/K-Challenge – America’s Cup helmsman and ISAF ranked number one match racer
3. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Team/Team French Spirit
4. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza
5. Adam Minoprio (NZL) Emirates Team New Zealand/Black Match Racing
6. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team

Other top teams are also planning to compete in this year's World Match Racing Tour, such as Ben Ainslie (Team Origin) or Magnus Holmberg (Victory Challenge). Sebastien Col's team in Marseille will be formed of Christophe Andre, Gilles Favennec and Pascal Rambeau.

Col comments:"I´m very happy for my club, YCPR, and all the club members who helped this event to grow year by year with the support of the French Sailing Federation. It is a great asset for us to have a World Match Racing Tour's event here. We start this season leading the world ranking, and we will prepare the event with a training with the French team in Marseille with our sparring partners. I´m looking forward to sailing again with Pascal Rambeau, as we did a very good test together last year: we won a grade 1 event in Berlin. Everybody in our team was happy to sail with Pascal. With Christophe Andre and Gilles Favennec, we have a very good team. It is up to us to be good and to work properly!"

Sebastien Col and his crew will take part this year to the ten events in the World Match Racing Tour's programme, and they will also sail the Congressional Cup (Long Beach, California over 23-28 March).