Using brains, boatspeed and excellent boat handling, Rob Greenhalgh and Dan Johnson of Great Britain won the opening race of the International 14 World Championship by two and three quarter minutes in Wakayama, Japan yesterday afternoon.

Completing an outstanding day for Great Britain, Archie Massey and George Nurton finished second, Jarrod Simpson and Harvey Hillary finished third, followed by four more British boats. Two Australian teams came next, but the leading Americans were surprisingly off the pace, and will no doubt be looking for more boat speed and a better understanding of the conditions tomorrow, when two further races are scheduled to take place.

The wind was by far the most difficult since racing began with the international team event last Saturday, and the Race Officer ordered a postponement until the light and variable breeze under a cloudy sky settled down at approximately 7 knots. At the end of the first lap the wind shifted significantly towards the south, and the windward mark was moved accordingly, but when the shift continued even further in the southerly direction the Race Officer took the wise decision to abandon the race and reset the course completely.

The restart took place after one general recall, and, although the increasing breeze was unstable in both direction and strength, the race was able to progress without further major incident. Several boats capsized in the stronger gusts, and the fleet was spread out by a massive distance by the finish.

The British teams in general, and Greenhalgh and Johnson in particular, had excellent results in this opening race of the seven-race series, but conditions here can change very rapidly, and it is far too early to speculate about the eventual outcome.

Results (Race 1 results subject to confirmation)

1. GBR 1482, Rob Greenhalgh and Dan Johnson

2. GBR 1476, Archie Massey and George Nurton

3. GBR 1489, Jarrod Simpson and Harvey Hillary

4. GBR 1479, Andrew Penman and Tim Bastow

5. GBR 1483, Victor Brellisford and Damian Ash

6. GBR 1481, Andy Partington and Ben Vervieres

7. GBR 1495, Chris Turner and Peter Bagwell

8. AUS 617, Alan Vickery and Andrew Wilson

9. AUS 623, Mark Krstic and Rob Oshlack

10.GBR 1484, James Fawcett and Bruce Grant