Former Double ISAF World Match Racing Champion, Ian Williams, heads to the Korea Match Cup this week with his Team GAC Pindar crew, for Stage 3 of the 2010 World Match Racing Tour.

Williams, who started his 2010 Tour campaign with a fifth place in Match Race Germany, has secured the support of long term partners, Team Pindar, Capita Symonds and a new partner in global logistics company, GAC. The crew will race as ‘Team GAC Pindar’ for the next three events, up to and including the STENA Match Cup in Marstrand, Sweden.

The Korea Match Cup is one of the most exciting events on the Tour calendar and will take place at Gyengok Marina, from June 8-13. It is held in conjunction with the Korea International Boat Show which guarantees a large number of spectators.

Twelve crews are set to compete on Bakewell-White-designed KM 36’s, for a share of the M Won 300,000,000 ($250,000 USD) prize purse. Competitors include current Tour leader Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team, reigning World Match Racing Tour Champion, Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing, Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra and last year’s Korea Match Cup winner Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Italia.

Racing will take place on the tidal flats of Jeongok and Jebu, part of the Gyeonggi Province which lies on the West coast of South Korea. With a coastline that stretches over 350 kilometres and tidal flat areas spanning more than 150 square kilometres, the region is fast emerging as a key location for marine recreation and the tourism industry.

Speaking from Korea, Williams said: “It’s been a tough start to the season. Funding issues prevented us from making the first round in France, so we’re now playing catch-up, but the team put in a solid fifth place performance in Germany after leading the early rounds and I feel we are making up ground. As our quest for a title sponsor continues, I’m extremely grateful to all our partners for their support. Team Pindar and Capita Symonds have both played a key role in our previous two world titles and having the additional support of GAC is a huge help. The Korea Match Cup is a fantastic event - not only is it culturally so different, but it attracts some of the biggest crowds on the Tour. Having finished in second place for both previous editions of the event, we’ll be looking to go one better this week.”

Team Pindar has operated as an independent sailing company since 2008. It has been actively supporting sailing campaigns for the past 30 years, including entries on the IMOCA 60 circuit, the World Match Racing Tour and individuals at grassroots levels through to the very pinnacle of the sport.

Last month ‘Team GAC Pindar’ announced a joint entry in the Extreme Sailing Series Europe, which marked an introduction into the sailing arena for GAC. The Dubai-based company is a global logistics provider, which delivers a complete range of international supply chain and logistics solutions, including air and sea freight, warehousing and distribution, road transportation, project logistics, ship spares logistics, international moving and courier services.

Captain Peter Gronberg, Managing Director of GAC (Bahrain) said: “We have been working closely with Team Pindar over the last year on its Sail Bahrain project. It has become clear that there are a number of synergies and business opportunities for a sailing team and a shipping and logistics service provider to work together. The World Match Racing Tour is an established, professional series that has a truly global reach. As we look to extend our niche maritime services, we are looking forward to learning more about the Tour and we are delighted to be supporting Ian, who is clearly one of the best match racers in the world today.”

Racing alongside Ian Williams for Team GAC Pindar will be Mark Nicholls, Simon Shaw, Richard Sydenham and Mal Parker.