SailGP: Last minute issues and format change emerge at Saint -Tropez Media Conference
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World & SailGPNZ 9 Sep 2022 16:31 HKT
9 September 2022
Spain SailGP Team helmed by Jordi Xammar leads Canada SailGP Team helmed by Phil Robertson during a practice session ahead of the Range Rover France Sail Grand Prix in Saint Tropez, France © Ricardo Pinto/SailGP
The British and USA teams disclosed some late issues ahead of the fifth SailGP regatta of Season 3. There has also been a change to the racing format from previous SailGP events.
SailGPUSA have lost one of their new , Steph Roble with a sprained ankle.
"We were trying to add some depth to our roster," said USA Skipper, Jimmy Spithill. "That's one thing we saw coming in at the Season 2 that if you if you have an injury to one of your key roles, instantly you can be on the backfoot."
"We're trying to bring introduce people into the into the team and yesterday we we brought one of the best female 49er sailors Steph Roble into the team. But unfortunately she sprained her ankle yesterday. So it just highlights again the need to have depth in our roster. Thanks to our French friends, we have a replacement for the weekend. But it just shows that things can change very very quickly. And if you've got depth in that roster, you can hopefully get out there and and react."
After their issues with damaged foils and related parts ahead of the SailGP Copenhagen regatta last month, the British team revealed that they had snapped a jib sheet in practice, and that in turn has damaged their F50, and they lost valuable practice time.
"Unfortunately yesterday we snapped a jib sheet which then recoiled," explained skipper Ben Ainslie. "The knock on effect of that was we caused some more delamination to the boat. One of the other teams very kindly agreed to help us out and gave us some more [practice] time on the water, today."
The racing format has changed from that previously published. Three races will now be sailed on Saturday, with a further three on the Sunday, followed by a
SailGP Report on the Media Conference - Saint-Tropez
Winning his first ever SailGP event on home waters would be 'brilliant' for Quentin Delapierre, although the France driver is well aware that is easier said than done.
Delapierre and his teammates celebrate their home event this weekend, racing in Saint-Tropez for the fifth event of Season 3 - a season in which France have shown major improvement and even managed a second-place finish in the previous event in Copenhagen.
Going one better and claiming the win in Saint-Tropez would be the perfect way for the French team to mark their home race, although Delapierre is under no illusions that this will be an easy task.
“It is really difficult to perform in SailGP, the level is so high," he said at a press conference. "For sure we want to be brilliant here in Saint-Tropez, but we have to take it step-by-step and this event will be the same.
“We have just tried to increase our confidence onboard. I think if you have confidence you are stronger in the first phase [of a race] - from the start to the leeward gate - and I think 80 per cent of the game is in this first phase. In Copenhagen we did well in this first phase and it was good for us.
“We are looking for the win for sure, but I know that is really tough and it’s a long way to go. So we are just going step-by-step and trying to be patient.”
France's second-place finish in Copenhagen saw Delapierre's team end behind New Zealand, who continued their fine form to make it back-to-back event wins.
Peter Burling and his crew have really hit their stride in the F50 over the past couple of months, and he is adamant the Kiwis can still only get better and better - although going for three wins in a row this time around is most certainly a tricky proposition.
“I’m really proud of how as a team we have been building" began Burling. "Our goal has always been to just keep getting better and keep improving, and I think we are still far from where we can get which is the really exciting part about it.
“But there are completely different conditions this weekend - it’s pretty fresh out there - so it’s a different configuration with the smaller wing and high-speed boards. But it’s going to be exciting to see how the fleet shapes up in this configuration as we haven’t sailed it for a long time now - since the season-opener in Bermuda - so it is going to be an exciting weekend.”