Williams, GAC Pindar take the title at WMRT Fremantle

Fremantle – Six-time World Match Racing Tour champion Ian Williams and his GAC Pindar crew clinched victory in a hotly contested first race of this year’s season in Fremantle, Australia.

The skipper beat Swede Hans Wallén and his Wallén Racing team 3-0 in the final, in convincing fashion. Williams dominated the event in a M32 high-speed catamaran, replacing the slower keelboats of previous years.

A jubilant Williams said: “All of us on GAC Pindar are over the moon to have won the first WMRT event. Coming into the regatta we did not know where we stood, but this victory shows we are on the right path towards the finals in Marstrand later this year.”

The event was also the first WMRT test for Williams’ crew. He was joined on board by veteran sailors Garth Ellingham, Mark Bulkeley and Brad Farrand, who he first sailed with in this year’s M32 series.

Moderate offshore winds blew Williams to victory nearly faultlessly, with the crew looking firmly in control throughout.

It marks a triumphant start to the season for Williams, just over a month after he was crowned with his record-breaking sixth WMRT title.

At the end of proceedings, Williams hoisted the trophy and accepted a winner’s cheque for $33,000, his team’s share of the $200,000 prize pool.

Next stop for Williams and GAC Pindar is Long Beach on the 5th of April, where he will try to cement his early season lead. The big finale is this July, at the World Championship Finals in Marstrand, Sweden, where $1m is up for grabs.