Team Pindar’s reigning Double ISAF World Match Racing Champion, Ian Williams, kept his championship hopes alive this weekend, finishing third at the St Moritz Match Race in Switzerland and climbing to fourth in the tour standings.

Having lost to eventual winner, Adam Minoprio (ETNZ/BlackMatch) in the semi-finals on Saturday, Williams went on to beat Philippe Presti (French Match Racing Team) 2-1, in the ‘petit final’. The result earned Williams 15 points and sees him climb from fifth to fourth place in the rankings, with three events remaining.

This was the fifth time Williams has competed for the ‘King of the Mountain’ title on the lake in St Moritz. Having won it in 2007 and finishing runner-up last year, another consistent performance sees him complete the set of a first, second, third and fourth place.

24-year-old New Zealander, Minoprio now leads the championship on 86 points followed by Torvar Mirsky (74), Mathieu Richard (68) and Ian Williams (64).
Speaking after the event, Williams commented: “It’s been a tough week with some very challenging conditions but, after a disappointing day on Saturday, it was good to come out and win again yesterday. On the one hand we’re really pleased to have gained a place in the standings and close the gap on Mathieu Richard, but Adam’s win has certainly boosted his position.”

With just a short turn around, the teams now head to Marselisborg, Århus in Denmark, where Williams will be looking to defend his Danish Open crown.
“We really need a big result in Denmark this week to keep in contention for the title.” He continued. “After that, there’s just one event left (in Bermuda) before the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia. With additional points on offer there and with the leader board changing after each event, it promises to be a really exciting climax to the season.”

The Danish Open begins on Wednesday, where skippers will race on DS37 Match Racers, for a share of the $50,000 prize purse.

Team Pindar’s crew for the event will be:  Ian Williams (Skipper), Richard Sydenham, Gerry Mitchell, Andy Estcourt, Mark Nicholls