| SPLIT,CROATIA-(26-5-2005) With four flights remaining in the double round robin of the ACI H1 Match Race Cup, Stage 7 of the 2004-’05 Swedish Match Tour, Bertrand Pacé (FRA), of BMW Oracle Racing, has clinched the No. 1 ranking with the semifinals looming.
Pacé, the event’s reigning champion, continued defeating all of his opponents today. His four wins in light winds extended his record to 17-0 and guaranteed him the opportunity to choose his opponent in the semifinal round.
Ed Baird (USA), of Team Alinghi, went 3-1 in today’s trying conditions and gained a firm grip on second in the round robin. He’s two wins ahead of third-placed Philippe Presti (FRA), who has a 10-6 record.
While Pacé has moved on to the semis, Baird and Presti aren’t guaranteed a spot in the next round. They’re in a dog fight that includes Staffan Lindberg (FIN) and Peter Gilmour (AUS), of Pizza-La Sailing Team.
At the end of today Lindberg held the fourth and final spot in the semis. Lindberg won his three matches today to push his record to 9-7 with four to race.
Gilmour went 1-3 on the day also has a 9-7 record, but Lindberg scored a big triumph over the reigning Swedish Match Tour champion in the final match of the day, which concluded after 8:00 p.m.
Today’s racing didn’t begin until after 4:00 p.m. The day’s first warning signal was scheduled for 12:50 p.m., but a postponement was issued instead as the winds off Split were light and shifty.
Racing finally commenced shortly after 4:00 p.m. in a west/southwesterly breeze between 5 and 8 knots. Four flights (20 matches) were conducted in about four and a half hours.
Principal Race Officer Alen Kustiæ kept the sailors on the water so late today because of tomorrow’s forecast. Light winds are again forecast for the morning, and the afternoon brings the hope of a 10-knot westerly. Either way, gone is the boisterous 30 knots of yesterday.
Pacé’s bye in Round 2 is scheduled for tomorrow’s first flight, Flight 8, which gives the other skippers a chance to close up one race. But with a four-race advantage in the loss column he can’t be caught even if he loses his final three matches and Baird wins his final four matches.
The fourth spot, however, is up for grabs.
Lindberg, in the driver’s seat, would appear to have the more difficult task. His next three matches are against Baird, Kelvin Harrap (NZL), of Emirates Team New Zealand, and Pacé, all matches he lost in Round 1. He finishes with a match against Björn Hansen (SWE), who is placed eighth with a 5-11 record, which he won in Round 1.
Gilmour’s final four matches are against Hansen, Mathieu Richard (FRA), Presti and Baird. He won all of them at the end of Round 1.
Then there are dark horses such as Richard and Harrap. Both have 8-8 records, but Richard owns the tiebreaker by having won the second encounter. Both would have to win out while getting help elsewhere to advance.
The pressure’s on Gilmour to win out. He and Baird are locked in a battle for the Tour championship. If Gilmour fails to advance to the final of the ACI Cup his chances of repeating as Tour champion reduce drastically, while those of Baird winning his first championship rise considerably.
Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match, BMW and the Match Race Association. Swedish Match Tour Official Sponsors include Musto, Sebago, Travel Places, Trident Studio and Wedgwood.
For more information on the Swedish Match Tour, its competitors and events, please visit the official Tour Web site, www.swedishmatchtour.com. Swedish Match Tour television programs may be viewed by clicking on the Tour television button on the home page of the Web site.
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