'Morale is high, but there is work to be done' Spithill speaks about aftermath in Sydney
by United States SailGP Team 19 Feb 2023 09:39 PST
18-19 February 2023
View of the aftermath of the storm at the technical area following racing on Race Day 1 of the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix © Ricardo Pinto/SailGP
"It was all-hands on deck... but ultimately Mother Nature won," said United States SailGP Team CEO and Driver Jimmy Spithill speaking about the major weather event that rolled through the SailGP Technical Base following Saturday's racing at the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney.
Due to the resulting damage to the SailGP F50 fleet, racing was canceled for Sunday. Thankfully, no serious injuries have been reported.
Earlier in the day Saturday, the U.S. SailGP Team looked on form, excelling in the gusty wind conditions. A pair of second places, and the third race fifth place, put the team in second place overall behind the France SailGP Team and in front of the Australians.
According to SailGP rules, the three completed races are enough to constitute an event. The team's second-place finish secured valuable points, but it wasn't enough to close the 11-point gap that remains between them and the season leaderboard podium.
The league has indicated that after a preliminary assessment, it plans to move forward with the next two events in Season 3, the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christ Church March 18-19 and the Grand Final - the United States Sail Grand Prix | San Francisco May 6 - 7, 2023.
Additional answers regarding the weather incident can be found here.