Hotting up

Latest round of RYA Winter Challenge Match Racing Series to take place this weekend

The countdown to the RYA Winter Challenge Match Racing Series Finals is hotting up as the qualifiers get underway again this weekend after the Christmas break.

Newly-crowned world match racing champion Ian Williams has already booked his spot in the three-day finals at Queen Mary Sailing Club starting on Friday 7 March, following his victory at the last qualifying event in 2007.

Two Grade Three qualifiers take place back-to-back over the next two weekends, with final places up for grabs for each of the event winners, before some of the big guns of World match-racing, including current World number one Mathieu Richard (FRA), come back into the fold in the final qualifier - Winter Challenge 5 - from Friday 8 February.

Also in the line up for that event are World number five Bjorn Hansen (SWE) and 2006 Series winner and World number seven Frenchman Damien Iehl, guaranteed to give three-days of scintillating excitement on the water.

Iehl's fellow countryman Victor Lanier (22), heads the cast at Queen Mary this weekend while Andrew Cornah, who finished second at the RYA National Match Racing Championship Finals in October, leads the five teams entered from Great Britain.

RYA Winter Challenge Match Racing Series 3 Entry List:
Victor Lanier (FRA) (ISAF world ranking 22)
Jacopo Pasini (ITA) (30)
Andrew Cornah (GBR) (36)
Christian Ponthieu (FRA) (46)
Antti Luhta (FIN) (65)
Robbie Allam (GBR) (71)
Christian Hamilton (GBR) (85)
John Greenland (GBR) (229)
Josie Gibson (GBR) (484)

2007-08 RYA Winter Challenge Match Racing Series Dates:
Winter Challenge 3 (Grade 3) 19 - 20 January
Winter Challenge 4 (Grade 3) 26 - 27 January
Winter Challenge 5 (Grade 2) 8 - 10 February
Women’s Winter Challenge (Grade 2) 22 - 24 February
Winter Challenge Final (Grade 2) 7 - 9 March 2008