Ainslie is more than a match for Iehl

Ben Ainslie crowned an ever-improving week by winning the German match racing championship on Lake Constance yesterday. He beat France's Damien Iehl 3-1 and said: "The conditions have been difficult all week, but I have a great team around me."

He also pointed to the importance of developing the relationship between himself and tactician Iain Percy in the world of match racing at a time when the British America ’s Cup team, Origin, is in cold storage.

Ainslie and his crew are doing five events on the world circuit this year and will assess prospects for 2010 when more is known about the proposed America ’s Cup clash next February between the holder, Switzerland ’s Alinghi, and the challenger, the San Francisco-based BMW Oracle.

The Americans are building a second giant multihull at their yard in Anacortes while the Swiss are due to unveil their defender at Villeneuve at the end of this month. The venue has yet to be announced by Alinghi and it is not expected to be before early August.

After a brief presentation, Ainslie and crew were rushed to the airport for a flight to Korea and its match racing championship, which starts on Wednesday.