 Last year’s World champion in Match Racing, Ian Williams, leaves nothing to the slump to make a better result in Match Cup Sweden in Marstrand 2008. This year he tops the starting field in Ice Breaker in Swedish Långedrag, April 12-13 to compete against the Nordic elite sailors in order to get practice in the DS 37 sailboat.
- We have never had a better starting field ever in Ice Breaker, says GKSS’ Erik Centerwall.
Ice Breaker is the season opener for Match racing in northern Europe and this year the Grade 3 race in Långedrag attracts a star filled starting field. In addition to Sailor of the Year and winner of last year’s Match Cup Sweden, Björn Hansen, his Finnish team mate in Alandia Sailing team, Staffan Lindberg, Johnnie Berntson, Mattias Rahm and Dane Peter Wibroe, the British World champion Ian Williams comes to start with his crew.
Williams won the World Match Racing Tour 2007 but failed completely in Match Cup Sweden 2007 and was eliminated before the finals. His goal now is to get hard match training against the Swedish, Finnish and Danish sailing elite and to improve his sailing skills on the boat type DS37. DS37 is the fast and lively sail boat used in the World Tour race in Marstrand, Match Cup Sweden, as well as in Denmark’s race Danish Open.
- We have never ever had a greater interest this early for the race, says Erik Centerwall. One of the top Women teams, Linda Rahm, will come to start as well.
Later this spring, May 31 – June 1, the second qualification race to Match Cup Sweden will be held (the first in Marseille has just been finished). The winner will get a start in the Marstrand World Tour race.
- The interest for Match Cup Sweden is already record high, the majority of all well known world skippers have shown interest in attending the race, so it will be a hard competition in getting a starting position, says Erik Centerwall.
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