Aussies Win Tornado World Championship In Argentina

Written by Di Pearson

On the final day, breezes did not settle in until late.

"We knew by the time we started Race 9, our penultimate race, that organisers wouldn't get the final race in as they would have to move the entire course and the spectator fleet, and by then it would be too late," said Bundock.

"That made things easier on us, because we picked the wrong side of the course in Race 9 and I knew we wouldn't recover, so we sailed straight to the beach, knowing we couldn't be beaten."

Bundock went on to say the spectator fleet was "the biggest I've ever seen anywhere. The locals were all out to cheer on their sailors, Santiago Lange and Carlos Espinola, who finished second. The crowd went wild."

Roman Hagara/Hans Peter Steinacher (AUT) the Athens gold medallists finished third, with one of the Aussies' training partners, Lordanis Paschaladis/Constantinos Trigonis (GRE) recording a personal worlds best to finish fourth.

Up until Race 9, the Australian Sailing Team members had not scored a result outside of sixth place, a remarkable effort in itself, while the rest of the fleet had suffered 20th and worse finishes, giving Bundock and Ashby that extra confidence. Going into the final two races, the pair had a 13 point buffer on their nearest opponents.

This is the fifth Tornado world crown for Bundock and the first for Ashby. In the lead-up to the Worlds, the pair finished second at the Tornado Europeans.

It was the sixth major regatta the pair has won since joining forces for the first time as an Olympic combination just 13 months ago, after Bundock struggled to find the right crew mate following John Forbes retirement.

Bundock has won five of the last nine Tornado Worlds, and is now only one world championship win behind Forbes, whom Bundock skippered four Tornado Worlds wins; 1998 and then three in succession , 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Although this is a first Tornado world title for Ashby, from Bendigo in Victoria, it is not his first worlds win. The recently turned 29 year-old owns two worlds trophies in the International A-Class Catamaran, and with Bundock, won two Formula 18 World Championships.

"This title means a lot. We've had to play catch up this year; all the top crews have been together for a long time, so we've had a lot of hard work to do. We went to a lot of trouble to make sure we were prepared - and we couldn't have done it any better, things just seemed go right from the start, apart from that one little incident when our jib fell down," Bundock said.

The 35 year-old from Berkeley Vale on the NSW Central Coast said that coach, Mike Fletcher, "couldn't stop smiling. He's very happy." Fletcher should be happy - this is the sixth time he has coached Australian crews to Tornado world championship wins; Mitch Booth and John Forbes, Bundock and Forbes and now Bundock and Ashby.

Of their win, Fletcher said: "The pair's decision-making skills this week has won the regatta for them. Yesterday they made some of the best decisions when under pressure. On the starting line they knew when to push - and when it was getting crowded - and the risk was high to back out and find another hole. Decisions like that win world championships. Yesterday they showed the world they wanted this crown."

Event Website including full results: http://tornado2006.cnsi.org.ar/  

International Tornado Website: www.tornado.org

Bundock/Ashby Website: www.darrenbundock.com