British match racer Ian Williams and his team of Laurie Jury, Graeme Sutherland, Stu Molloy and Sam Tucker of Team Pindar will this week be competing at New Zealand’s most prestigious match racing event, the Auckland Match Racing Cup. Beginning today, Team Pindar will battle against nine other skippers in Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour, for a prize pool of $US 50,000.

The line-up includes Frenchman Mathieu Richard, Williams’ closest rival on the current World Match Racing Tour rankings, and reigning Auckland Match Racing Cup champion Dean Barker. Hosted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, the Grade 1 event promises five days of thrilling racing to decide the 2007 champion.

Williams, Britain’s most promising match racing helmsman, is currently leading the World Match Racing Tour and lies second in the ISAF Match Race Rankings. No Briton has ever been ranked higher on the open ISAF ladder, or ever led the World Match Racing Tour before.