Please select your home edition
Edition
Hellamarine-Apelo-A3-@2x_1456x180px TOP

Shots fired after dramatic incident between AUS & NZ at Range Rover France Sail Grand Prix

by Olivia Hogan / Australia SailGP Team 10 Sep 2022 13:03 PDT 10-11 September 2022
Australia SailGP Team helmed by Tom Slingsby nose dive in the first race on Race Day 1 of the Range Rover France Sail Grand Prix in Saint Tropez, France © Bob Martin for SailGP

The French Riviera was awash with drama on the first day of the Range Rover France Sail Grand Prix, with Tom Slingsby (Australia) and Peter Burling (New Zealand) sparring over a controversial incident.

Peter Burling's New Zealand Team attacked the Australians with an aggressive manoeuvre in the first race, which saw the Flying Roo crash down in the water when going over 90 km/h in the final leg to lose all their speed and momentum - allowing the Kiwis to overtake them into the winning position.

The Australia's F50 sustained major damage to its fairings, which have a critical role in the performance of the boat during racing. No one expected the Australians to be able to make the following two races, but a miracle pit lane triage executed by the team's shore crew and tech team enabled the Aussies to just make the second race of the day.

Tom Slingsby said: "We were literally just trying to get to that finish line safely in the first race, with these conditions we were side-slipping and had very little control. We would have happily given him the position and come in second, and unfortunately we now have a lot of damage from an unnecessary incident."

"To me him coming up at us like that is just unsafe. In that scenario it's 50/50 as to whether people get seriously injured and I just don't think it's worth it for one point at the start of the event. He always seems to have a pretty warped view on this type of thing so it will be interesting to hear his thoughts", Slingsby added.

New Zealand Driver and CEO Peter Burling was quick to throw barbs back at Slingsby during the media mixzone, offering a conflicting opinion on the incident.

"From our perspective we were overlapping to leeward for a very long time and they were closing the gauge down to us and we were fully within our rights to do what we did. We did exactly the same thing with Canada in the next reach and they got out of the way."

"They were obviously pushing super hard for the win so it would have been easy for them to back off and not have an incident like that. We were definitely pretty surprised with how he (Tom) reacted on the radio comms."

Slingsby quipped back at Burling's comment saying: "I reacted pretty frustrated on the radio comms, because I heard Peter saying that we bore away at him and caused the incident ourselves when it's clear to see when you look at the helicopter footage and the onboard footage, they luffed us so in my opinion the incident could have been avoided. They chose to do that and then said it didn't happen which is why I reacted the way I did on radio."

The shore team will now work through the night with SailGP's tech team to repair the damage so that the boat is fit for the final race day of the Range Rover France Sail Grand Prix. The team are currently sitting in third place, and will need to perform consistently tomorrow to secure a place in the final.

SailGP also confirmed that an extra fleet race has been added to the schedule for the second day of racing. There will now be four fleet races in total before the final, where the champion of the event will be crowned.

Related Articles

Aussies break Saint Tropez SailGP curse
Securing podium finish at the France Sail Grand Prix Tom Slingsby and his Australian crew have finally broken their 'Saint Tropez curse', securing second place at the France Sail Grand Prix in Saint Tropez. Posted on 10 Sep
Kiwis wing collapses in first day of St Tropez
Aussies show glimmer of hope to break the curse of St Tropez The Australians managed to finish the first day of racing at the France Sail Grand Prix in the middle of the pack, but it was the Kiwis who shocked fans worldwide with a dramatic incident taking place post racing. Posted on 9 Sep
It's all on for AUS and NZL at France SailGP
Tom Slingsby (AUS) throws jabs at Peter Burling (NZL) in St Tropez Australia's Tom Slingsby throws jabs at New Zealand Driver Peter Burling ahead of France Sail Grand Prix Showdown Posted on 8 Sep
Fairytale win for the Spanish team in Los Angeles
“I'm sure I'll calm down but right now it's pretty raw” Los Angeles hosted a fairytale ending for the Spain SailGP Team, who secured its first ever victory in SailGP against Australia and Denmark. Posted on 24 Jul
Aussies star of the show at LA SailGP
The Australians delivered a blockbuster worthy performance at the opening of season The Australians delivered a blockbuster worthy performance at the opening of the Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix, securing their seat at the top of the leaderboard. Posted on 23 Jul
Aussies gear up for high-stakes race at LA SailGP
SailGP's most challenging track in history awaits the ten competing national teams The anticipation is at an all-time high as Australia readies itself to fight for the inaugural Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix, commencing tomorrow. Posted on 22 Jul
Grudge match erupts between the Aussies and Kiwis
The opportunity for a re-match at the podium final of the Rolex United States The Aussies and Kiwis had the opportunity for a re-match at the podium final of the Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier, but it was Burling's New Zealand crew that took the win on Lake Michigan. Posted on 18 Jun
Aussies on top Day One SailGP Chicago
The age-old rivalry between AUS and NZL has reignited on the waters of Lake Michigan The age-old rivalry between Australia and New Zealand has reignited on the waters of Lake Michigan as SailGP Season 4 commenced with an exhilarating first day of racing. Posted on 17 Jun
SailGP Season 4 to launch with Fox Sports
SailGP Season 4 about to launch with Fox Sports as official broadcast partner SailGP is set to ignite the global sporting stage once again when Season 4 kicks off tomorrow with an exhilarating opening event - Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix - in the iconic city of Chicago at Navy Pier. Posted on 16 Jun
Australia crowned Season 3 SailGP Champions
Tom Slingsby delivers a historic three-peat and secures the $1M prize purse for Australia Tom Slingsby's crew delivers a historic three-peat and secures the $1M prize purse for Australia in the closest SailGP grand final ever seen. Posted on 8 May
Armstrong-Suptonic-728x90-2 BOTTOMMarine Resources 2022 - FOOTERVisit Pensacola 2023 FOOTER