The Omega Match Racing Team - Tony Rae, Dean Barker, James Dagg and Ben Ainslie

With the Omega Match Racing Team having debuted at the Investors Guaranty presentation of the King Edward VII Gold Cup, Omega announced today that it will be supporting Team New Zealand (TNZ) skipper Dean Barker and team on the Swedish Match Tour. Omega's support will enable Dean to compete on the Tour while the TNZ challenge for the America's Cup is in its "rebuilding stages". Patrick Buteux, special events manager for Omega, also hinted at the possibility of Omega's support of two or three Omega Match Race Teams.

Dean is sailing in Bermuda with Tony Rae and James Dagg with English Olympian Ben Ainslie guesting on the bow.

While it is easy to jump to the conclusion that Ben may positioning himself for a slot with TNZ, his presence with the Omega Match Race Team may be a one-off. Ben is currently taking some time off from his Finn Olympic campaign and when questioned on Ben's continued presence on the team Dean joked that it "depends on how well he does today" referring to the semi-finals in which they will come up against Chris Dickson and the Team Oracle BMW Racing team; Ben is working the bow for Dean, a position he has not previously filled.

Ben Ainslie applying some of his new-found Finn bulk to Dean Barker's rail

The team is borne of Omega's longstanding association with Team New Zealand, which started with Sir Peter Blake's succesful challenge for the America's Cup in 1995. The ties remain strong with Omega being the official watch of Team New Zealand. The Omega Match Racing Team will for the most part consist of members of the TNZ crew and is "further confirmation of Omega's confidence in Team New Zealand".

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