Minoprio returns To St Moritz To Make His Move On ISAF Match Racing World Championship

London, UK – 26 August 2010 – Defending ISAF Match Racing World Champion, Adam Minoprio and his ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing team are looking to put their nearest rivals to the sword at the St. Moritz Match Race next week as the business end of the Tour gets underway.

The idyllic setting of Lake St. Moritz high in the Swiss Alps will play host to a series of fierce one-on-one sailing battles as the top names in the ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) compete for the coveted ‘King of the Mountains’ title. The man to beat is defending St. Moritz Match Race Champion, Adam Minoprio (NZL), who comprehensively outgunned his rivals in 2009 on his way to taking the overall Match Racing World Championship. The New Zealander leads a crop of young sailors looking to outshine the more established names in match racing and leaves no doubt about his desire to repeat his feat of 2009.

Minoprio, said: “We want to keep the ‘King of the Mountain’s’ title in our trophy cabinet but we know the challenge from the eleven other competing teams in St. Moritz will be tough. No one is going there to take in the scenery and make up the numbers so my team will need to be right on top of our tactical game to ensure we are on top of the podium come Sunday. We’re into the second half of the Tour now so we’re fully focused, the adrenaline is pumping and the overall title is front of mind.”

Twelve teams representing seven nations will compete for the honours which include the winning prize money of CHF 150,000. In addition to Minoprio, the competition will include current Tour leader, Mathieu Richard (FRA) with French Match Racing, and Ben Ainslie (GBR) - the quadruple Olympic medalist and skipper of Britain’s America’s Cup Challenger, Team Origin. Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Ian Williams (GBR), Francesco Bruni (ITA), Björn Hansen (SWE), Bertrand Pacé (FRA), Damien Iehl (FRA) and Eric Monnin (SUI) will also battle it out on Lake St. Moritz together with a group of promising qualifiers.

Sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) with “Special Event” status, the Tour sits amongst the prestige of the America’s Cup and The Volvo Ocean Race by attracting the world’s best sailors. The St. Moritz Match Cup is the 6th Stage in the epic 9 event Tour which includes races in France, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Sweden, Korea, Bermuda and Denmark, culminating in November/December 2010 with the high-profile Monsoon Cup in Malaysia.

Jim O’Toole, CEO of the ISAF World Match Race Tour, commented: “The stunning setting, the best sailors, head-to-head close up action, passionate fans – next week’s event in St. Moritz is what the World Match Racing Tour is all about. The teams all want to get under the skin of their nearest rivals and take the bragging rights into the next Tour stage. I’m looking forward to seeing the action on the water where there’s still all to play for in the race to become the World Match Racing Champion.”

For fans around the world, the event will also be featured in a TV highlights programme called The St Moritz Match Race. Featuring all the action from Lake St. Moritz, it will premiere on Eurosport at 21.35 on 6 October and also show on Eurosport Asia Pacific at 13.45 on 13 October. The programme will be screened on Sky Sports 3 at 18.00 on 22 October.

The St. Moritz Match Race highlights show will be broadcast on channels across the globe including CNBC, Setanta, Showtime, Sky NZ, Sevenload, Yacht and Sail International, America One, ESPN Star Sports, PCTV Mexico, Melita Cable, Bands Sports Brazil as well as local Swiss broadcaster Teleclub. The latest TV schedule for all the races can be viewed at: http://www.wmrt.com/multimedia/tv-schedules.html

*Note: times are subject to change without notification