OLYMPIC champions Iain Percy and Sherborne’s Andrew Simpson insist their eyes are on a bigger prize after narrowly missing out on the Star World Championship title in Hyeres, France.

The British duo missed out on their second world title together to claim silver just two points behind perennial rivals Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA), after heading into the final day’s racing as series leaders.

The Brazilian pair secured the better start on the final day, before a 40-degree wind shift on the first leg left the Skandia Team GBR pair and their medal competition fighting it out in the middle of the 72-boat fleet. This allowed Scheidt and Prada, with a better race discard than Percy and Simpson, to cover the Beijing gold medallists and prevent them from improving on their own discard of 17th from the previous day’s race. They finished in 38th forced them to count their race result from Thursday and knock them to second in the overall standings.

The British pair had outlined broader goals heading into the World Championships in terms of their equipment choices and race preparations for the Olympic regatta in Weymouth and Portland, but Percy was nonetheless disappointed that the Brazilian pair had managed to pass them on the final day to claim their third World Championship title.

Percy and Simpson’s Skan-dia Team GBR training partners John Gimson and Anth-ony Shanks ended their regatta in 30th.

Meanwhile, Weymouth’s Paul Goodison concluded his Laser World Championships in Boltenhagen, Germany, in 20th overall after being on the receiving end of three yellow flag penalties from the jury for adjudged illegal kinetics of the boat.

* Ben Ainslie is part of the 94-sailor, 30-nation line-up at the JPMorgan Asset Management Finn Gold Cup which started yesterday at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club, Falmouth.