Great Britain’s Ben Ainslie claims Finn class title of 2011 Weymouth and Portland
International Regatta
Great Britain’s Ben Ainslie sailed brilliantly on the final day of 2011 Weymouth and Portland International Regatta to claim the Finn class title with 17 points at Weymouth Bay on Saturday, August 13. Netherlands’ Pieter Jan Postma finished second in the
overall standings with 36 points while Jonathan Lobert from France occupied third place to claim the bronze medal.
Weather conditions were a bit testing on the penultimate day, however, the conditions eased out on the final day, making the race exciting and relatively easy for the sailors. The Brit had a marvellous sail and clinched both races of the day to stand on
top of the results.
Despite an unconvincing performance in the last race, Postma still managed to retain his second place to claim the silver medal. However, the French Finn sailor, Lobert earned a 12th
and a sixth place in the final day’s races, grabbing the third spot and a bronze medal.
While speaking to the local reporters after the races, Ainslie said, “It's a relief to win here today. It's good to take the pressure off tomorrow and it's also a big step forwards for selection next year. It's obviously up to the selection committee what
they want to do but I have ticked all the boxes.”
He added, “Today was hard because PJ was sailing so well and it was hard to get any points on him. If I was winning races he was always finishing in second or third and as he had a much bigger discard, the plan was to make sure he finished outside that.
And that all went well and I had an opportunity to go for it and sail through the fleet. I managed to do that.”
The overall result of Finn class after 10 races is given below.
1. GBR Ben Ainslie 2, 1, (6), 5, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1 = Total Points 23, Net Points 17
2. NED Pieter Jan Postma 12, 3, 1, 1, 2, 9, 5, 1, 2, (15) = Total Points 51, Net Points 36
3. FRA Jonathan Lobert 3, 2, 3, 6, 1, (13), 4, 7, 12, 6 = Total Points 57, Net Points 44
4. ESP Rafael Trujillo 14, 5, 2, (15), 8, 3, 3, 3, 10, 2 = Total Points 65, Net Points 50
5. CRO Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 4, 8, 4, 3, (28 DSQ), 12, 2, 6, 8, 4 = Total Points 79, Net Points 51
6. DEN Jonas Hoegh Christensen (28) DSQ, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8, 4, 7, 5 = Total Points 86, Net Points 58
7. EST Deniss Karpak 1, 7, 10, 12, 4, 2, 9, 8, (13), 7 = Total Points 73, Net Points 60
8. NZL Dan Slater 11, 18, 5, 2, (28 DSQ), 4, 7, 9, 6, 12 = Total Points 102, Net Points 74
9. USA Zach Railey 5, 9, (26), 8, 5, 8, 16, 11, 5, 9 = Total Points 102, Net Points 76
10. BIRGMARK Daniel S SWE (28 DSQ), 10, 12, 10, 6, 5, 20, 14, 3, 8 = Total Points 116, Net Points 88
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