Mathieu Richard has won the Korea Match Cup after beating Taylor Canfield 2-0 in the Final. Attributing his win to great team work and mental resilience, Richard and his French team mates on GEFCO Match Racing Team looked very at home today on the KM36 keelboats racing in light to moderate breezes under bright blue skies. Their mastery of Jeongok Harbour was well rewarded with a prize of 625,000 Korean Won, around US$55,000, from a total prize fund of approximately US$222,000.

Taylor Canfield was pleased with his week’s work, even if the American made a rare error of judgement in the final start. “It was a do or die situation, but we had them [the French] on the ropes for most of the pre-start. It all came down to that last decision, and unfortunately it didn’t go right for me.” Canfield left Richard to take the left-hand end of the start while he tacked away for the committee boat end. Trouble was, he gave the start boat a good smack, putting a large hole in the side and was given a penalty for his efforts. It was all about killing time and distance for the start line, but Canfield still crossed too early and had to turn back for a restart. A comeback for Canfield was looking unlikely and although he closed the gap, Richard never looked seriously threatened. The French started celebrating a few boatlengths before crossing the finish line.

Richard won here three years earlier and was hard pushed to say which of his two Korea Match Cup victories were more special. “I think both victories were fantastic for us. We are a new team with a new sponsor and our team work was very good, and we stayed calm, we showed good mental strength through the knock-out stages.”

If anything the greater drama came in the Petit Final to decide 3rd and 4th overall. Adam Minoprio looked to have the race well in control against Ian Williams, but Team Alpari FX allowed GAC Pindar to split away from them on the final beat. The British skipper closed the gap and again looked for some separation on the final run to the finish. When the boats converged towards the bottom of the run, Williams on starboard was able to force Minoprio to gybe away.

When they came back together, this time Minoprio steered up behind Williams and instead of being met by a defensive gybe, they swapped sides. Now Williams was on the disadvantaged side and when he tried to wriggle past the Kiwi boat, Minoprio forced the Briton into a luff, both boats flogging their gennakers as they rounded into the breeze. Minoprio had been looking to stick a penalty on Williams and while he failed to get it, the Kiwi was able to turn towards the line first and scrape across the finish line to claim 3rd place.

Minoprio was surprised at the manner of his win. “We wanted to get closer to the finish boat, and fortunately he let us. It was a case of each of us trying to give each other the win, luckily for us he gave it to us at the last cross.”

To lose the Semi Final and then the Petit Final was a tough way to round out a regatta that Williams had dominated for much of the week. “There are some days in match racing when things don’t seem to go your way,” said Williams, whether it’s powerboat chop as you’re trying to tack, or a wind shift going against you. I think we had one of those days. I think we sailed fast and smooth, but we made a few misjudgements, especially in the start. Then again we made the Semis, and there are eight other guys who didn’t, so it’s not too bad, and we’re still in the championship.” The Korea Match Cup is the only title on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour to have eluded the four-time World Champion. “We feel strong here, we feel this is one of the best events on the Tour, and we’ll be back next year for at least one more shot at the title.”

FINAL RESULTS
Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team beat Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone 2-0

PETIT FINAL RESULTS
Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX beat Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar  1-0

SEMI FINAL RESULTS
Mathieu Richard (FRA) GEFCO Match Racing Team beat Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 3-1
Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone beat Adam Minoprio (NZL) Team Alpari FX 3-0

OVERALL RESULTS

1. Mathieu Richard (FRA) – GEFCO Match Racing Team  31 points
2. Taylor Canfield (ISV) – USone  28 points
3. Adam Minoprio (NZL) – Team Alpari FX   24 points
4. Ian Williams (GBR) – Team GAC Pindar  20 points
5. Keith Swinton (AUS) – Black Swan Racing  17 points
6. Johnie Berntsson (SWE)- Stena Sailing Team   15 points
7. Phil Robertson (NZL) – WAKA Racing  12 points
8. David Gilmour (AUS) – Team Gilmour 10 points
9. Björn Hansen (SWE) – Mekonomen Sailing Team  5 points
10. Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) – Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 3 points
11. Kim Taejeong (KOR) – Gyeonggi Match 0 points
12. Park Gunwoo (KOR) – Busan Match 0 points

LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 2 – KOREA MATCH CUP

1. Mathieu Richard (FRA) – GEFCO Match Racing Team 50
2. Adam Minoprio (NZL) – Team Alpari FX 46
3. Ian Williams (GBR) – Team GAC Pindar 45
4. Taylor Canfield (ISV) – USone 42
5. Johnie Berntsson (SWE)- Stena Sailing Team 31
6. Keith Swinton (AUS) – Black Swan Racing 19
7. Björn Hansen (SWE) – Mekonomen Sailing Team 17
8. Phil Robertson (NZL) – WAKA Racing 16
9. Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) – Vannes Agglo Sailing Team 11
10. Karol Jablonski (POL) – Jablonski Sailing Team 10

– David Gilmour (AUS) – Team Gilmour 10

Photo Credit: Subzero Images/AWMRT

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