Marstrand revs up

Stena Match Cup Sweden sets sail

Stena Match Cup Sweden, Stage 5 of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour, has attracted an abundance of the World’s leading men’s and women’s match racers to the rocky outcrop of Marstrand on Sweden's west coast. The Swedish leg of the WMRT has had a distinguished role call including America’s Cup legends like Dean Barker, Russell Coutts, Chris Law and Peter Gilmour.

Peter Gilmour (AUS) of Yanmar Racing won Stena Match Cup Sweden last year and has now notched up and seven victories at this event since its inaugural year in 1994. Gilmour is poised for the podium again after having also won Stage 4 of this year’s Tour only 8 days ago.

The Swedish national contingent as expected is also massive this year. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) of Sigma Racing Team, one of the founders of Stena Match Cup Sweden will be a skipper to watch with his competitive flair. Ironically Holmberg has yet to win his home event.

Other Swedes competing include Mattias Rahm of Stena Bulk Sailing Team, who won in 2008, Bjorn Hansen of Hansen Global Team who was the first Swedish winner of this event and Johnie Berntsson of Berntsson Sailing Team a past winner of the Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda.

Stena Match Cup Sweden will also see the return to the Tour of TeamOrigin's Ben Ainslie.

With 16 teams divided into two groups there may be some surprise results. The line-up includes Australia's Keith Swinton of Black Swan Racing, the youngest skipper at 23 and New Zealander Reuben Corbett of Black Sheep Racing.

Stena Match Cup Sweden is also running a women’s event in tandem with the men’s Tour racing and has invited 10 of the most motivated female team’s from across the globe. The women’s event started today and Silke Hahlbrock (GER) leads against Katie Pellew (neé Spithill) (AUS), Lucy Macgregor (GBR) and Linda Rahm (SWE).

Men's line-up
ADAM MINOPRIO
TORVAR MIRSKY
BEN AINSLIE
MATHIEU RICHARD
DAMIEN IEHL
IAN WILLIAMS
PETER GILMOUR
BJÖRN HANSEN
FRANCESCO BRUNI
JOHNIE BERNTSSON
KEITH SWINTON
MATTIAS RAHM
STAFFAN LINDBERG
REUBEN CORBETT
MAGNUS HOLMBERG
JESPER RADICH

Women's line-up

LUCY MACGREGOR
KATIE PELLEW
SILKE HAHLBROCK
ANNE-CLAIRE LE BERRE
ANNA KJELLBERG
RENEE GROENEVALD
LOTTE MELDGAARD PEDERSEN
LINDA RAHM
EKATERINA SKUDINA
TRINE ABRAHAMSEN

2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour Standings

(After Stage 4 of 10)
1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 71 Points
2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch Racing 54 Points
3 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 48 Points
4 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 43 Points
5 Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 42 Points
6 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 33 Points
7 Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 20 Points
- Jesper Radich (SWE) Radich Racing Team 20 Points
9 Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia 16 Points
10 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team 15 Points