Controversial win for Williams

As Richard and Bruni are tied at the top at Korea Match Cup

A controversial umpiring decision saw Ian Williams snatch victory from Peter Gilmour in the most exciting duel of Qualifying Session Two at the Korea Match Cup. The victory put Williams safely into third place just one point behind joint leaders France's Mathieu Richard and Italy's Francesco Bruni.

Four times match racing world champion Peter Gilmour, of Yanmar Racing, led off the line, managing to stave off the attacks from Williams'  Team GAC Pindar as the two went head to head in what turned out to be the race of the day.

Williams picked up a penalty during a luffing match rounding mark two when he didn't keep clear having been given plenty of room, but edged past Gilmour, extending his lead to 27 seconds by the penultimate mark. Williams waited until the very last moment to offload his penalty on the finishing line, tangling with Gilmour just metres from the finish line. Williams finished his penalty on starboard, having opted not to take it around the mark itself, but Gilmour was owed room at the finish mark.

Calls that Williams had caused contact flew from Gilmour’s camp, but their protest was dismissed by the on-the-water umpires and Williams snuck across the line to take the win. The victory put Williams safely into third place just one point behind joint leaders Richard and Bruni.

Gilmour slipped from the commanding position he started the day in but has five more matches to sail, with a big match against France's Damien Iehl awaiting him in the first flight tomorrow.

“It was a frustrating call from the umpire, who I don’t think was in the right position to see the incident,” Gilmour said. “I think if they looked at it again now they might come to a different decision. However it’s one of those things and I would choose to have on-the-water umpires every day of the week over any other system of judging.”

Standings after the second Qualifying Session:

Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 6-2
Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing 6-2
Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 5-1
Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat 5-3
Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 4-2
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 4-4
Paul Campbell-James (GBR) Dream Team 3-3
Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 3-3
Bjorn Hansen (DEN) Mekonomen Sailing Team 3-3
Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 1-5
Reuben Corbett (NZL) AON Racing Team 1-7
Sung Wook Kim (KOR) Busan Match Team 1-7