Denmark’s Jesper Radich finishes third after beating Peter Gilmour at 2011 Monsoon Cup
Last day of the 2011 Monsoon Cup saw some impressive sailing performances, first in the semi-final races and then in final event. The first semi-final event was raced between Berntsson Sailing Team’s Johnie Berntsson and Peter Gilmour of YANMAR Racing, while
Great Britain’s Ian Williams, skipper Team GAC Pindar, and Jesper Radich of Adrian Lee & Partners went head-to-head in the second semi-final.
Gilmour/Berntsson semi-final was a tussling encounter, as both sailors moved neck-to-neck until the end. After Gilmour took the first race easily, Berntsson bounced back with back-to-back race wins to clinch a 2-1 lead.
However, the Aussie dragged the competition into a decider race after winning the third contest and pulled level at 2-2. The Swede took the final race comprehensively, to finish the battle 3-2 and surge into the final of 2011 Monsoon Cup at Kuala Terengganu,
in Malaysia.
Later in the day, the second semi-final between Williams and Radich started with the Brit taking an early 1-0 lead after winning the first race. Radich followed him with an impressive win in the second race to equalise the scores at 1-1. The British sailor
sailed superbly in the next two races to nudge the Danish sailor 3-1 down in the end and set up a Swedish clash in the final contest.
After the semi-finals finished, Radich and Gilmour raced against each other in the petit final, where Radich finished on top with a 2-0 score line.
Radich spoke to local media after the petit final and said, “Overall I'm happy with the way the team has sailed. We probably sailed our best as a team at this event and at the first event of the year. This season I've realised the Tour has reached a professional
level and to keep up with that level you have to make it your only focus.”
On the other hand, Gilmour added, “It's been an unusual year as we usually win one event. You can go up and down so fast - in the end, we were within one race of coming third on the Tour. Now we just need to bring our game up to the next level because the
level on the Tour is stepping up and up each year.”
Final standings at the conclusion of 2011 Monsoon Cup standings:
1. Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar
2. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team
3. Jesper Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners
4. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing
5. Will Tiller (NZL) Full Metal Jacket Racing
6. Phil Robertson (NZL) Team China powered by WAKA Racing
7. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team
8. Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing
9. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat
10. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team
11. Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team
12. Jeremy Koo (MAS) Abdullah Chan / KRT
Overall World Championship Standings are given below:
1. Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar - 144 points
2. Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing - 112 points
3. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team - 106.2 points
4. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat - 105.8 points
5. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing - 102.8 points
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