Team GAC Pindar claims first win of 2013 ALPARI World Match Racing Tour
UK – 21 May 2013 – Reigning Match Racing World Champion and Skipper of Team GAC Pindar Ian Williams has secured victory in the first regatta of the season at Match Race Germany.
Overcoming erratic weather conditions at Lake Constance, Langenargen that required organisers to suspend racing several times during the event, British sailor Ian Williams and his crew were leading 2009 World Champion Adam Minoprio of Team Alpari FX 1-0 in the best-of-three final before light wind conditions saw the Final curtailed, handing Ian the Match Race Germany title for the first time in his career.
Ian was in great form all weekend, having topped the round-robin qualifiers and then showing real grit to come back from an overnight 2-1 deficit to clinch his place in the final with a 3-2 win over Stena’s Johnie Berntsson, before taking what proved to be a decisive lead in the Final.
Speaking after being presented with the winning trophy at Lake Constance, Ian Williams admitted that it had been a challenging regatta and a hard win. Williams commented: “Winning here in Germany is a great achievement for me and Team GAC Pindar. I’ve never managed a win here on the World Match Race Tour, so it’s a great feeling. The mixed conditions made it a really challenging few days. We’ve had very strong and very light winds; sunshine and heavy rain plus seriously choppy waters. We had to be at our best to secure the title, particularly given the tough competition. We also had two new guys standing in on the team for this event, Graeme Spence and Willem Van Waay, and they both did a great job. This result sets us up perfectly for the season ahead and for the Korea Match Cup in a week’s time.”
Andrew Pindar, Team Principal of Team GAC Pindar, added: “This is a brilliant start to the season and hopefully a great sign of things to come as Ian continues his bid to secure a historic fifth World Championship crown. We all saw the depth of quality in the field in this season’s tour and how narrow the margins of victory can be, so we’ll enjoy this victory but are already focused on the final preparations for the Korea Match Cup.”
The next ALPARI World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT) regatta takes place between May 28 and June 3 at the Jeongok Marina in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
Ian Williams and the GAC Pindar crew, Mal Parker, Bill Hardesty, Graeme Spence and Willem Van Waay, winners of the 2013 Alpari World Match Racing Tour in Germany.
The AWMRT is the world’s leading professional sailing series featuring world-class Championship events across the globe, with six stops on this year’s calendar across three continents. Every match race is a duel between two identically matched boats, creating close, aggressive competition, thrilling viewing and some of the most exciting action in world sport.
For more information about Team GAC Pindar, please visit the team website at www.gacpindar.com and Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/teamgacpindar and follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gacpindar. To find out more about the ALPARI World Match Racing Tour, go to http://www.wmrt.com.
About GAC Pindar
GAC Pindar is your first port of call for integrated specialist services for the marine leisure sector, including yacht transportation, superyacht services, air sea and road freight, yacht spares logistics, sailing event management, ship agency and corporate hospitality. It is the winning combination of the global strength and resources of the GAC Group with the insider understanding of the yachting world represented by the Team Pindar professional sailing team.
Launched in 2011, GAC Pindar is headquartered at the heart of the yachting community – in the UK sailing hub of Southampton.
In addition to providing services to the worldwide yachting community, GAC Pindar is a familiar name on the international race circuit, frequently featuring in the winning line-up at premier sailing events.
GAC Pindar is the official logistics provider for the Extreme Sailing Series.
About Team Pindar
Team Pindar is a world-class sailing team competing in international competitions, including the Extreme Sailing Series and the World Match Racing Tour since 1980 when it first competed in the North Sea Race.
About GAC Group
GAC is a global provider of integrated shipping, logistics and marine services. Emphasising world-class performance, a long-term approach, innovation, ethics and a strong human touch, GAC delivers a flexible and value-adding portfolio to help customers achieve their strategic goals.
Established since 1956, GAC employs over 10, 000 people in more than 300 offices worldwide.
