Switzerland SailGP Team making steps forward in Dubai
by Switzerland SailGP Team 10 Dec 2023 08:31 PST
9-10 December 2023
The fleet in action on Race Day 1 of the Emirates Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 9th December © Felix Diemer for SailGP
Switzerland SailGP Team competed at its final event of 2023 this weekend, the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas. The team had a good week in the iconic Emirati city with five days of training followed by two solid race days. Despite having a new flight controller onboard [Nicolas Rolaz] the team were not scared to push hard and showed real progress and steps forward on the racecourse.
It's the second time the fleet has raced in Dubai and once again it delivered one of the league's tightest and most exciting courses. On day one, Swiss SailGP Team had the strongest starts its ever had, followed by 4, 3 and 1 places round mark one. Unfortunately the team were unable to keep it together in the races and finished with mid-fleet results (6,7,6).
Today, with light conditions forecast, the F50 teams made the decision to reintroduce the 29m wing, its first appearance since the dramatic collapse of New Zealand's in Saint-Tropez back in September. Despite trickier racing conditions, the Swiss continued to show promising moments and were racing in the mix, but unable to punch through the fleet at the start. With two back-to-back sixth place finishes, the team finish seventh overall in Dubai, its highest position so far this season.
It was a dramatic conclusion for the three highest ranking teams of the weekend; New Zealand, Australia and Canada. In the final race of the day all three boats came together at the final mark rounding, resulting in a tense sprint to the finish. Despite crossing the line in first place, a last-minute penalty denied Canada victory and New Zealand took the event win.
Swiss strategist and grinder, Laurane Mettraux on the day's racing: "Today we raced with the 29m wing as it was pretty light out there, it was quite different as we haven't used this wing for a while. The conditions weren't very easy and it was also challenging to start with all the disturbed air [from the F50s] but we tried to stay in the race and to gain some points where we could. It generally felt like we had a different mindset this weekend and that was really positive for the team and showed in our racing and results. We will keep working this way and push for the rest of the season."
Driver Sebastien Schneiter on the team's performance in Dubai: "This week it feels like there has been a click in the team, there's been really good energy and it feels like we are making some good steps forward. It's taking us time, so we still have to be patient, but definitely some clear improvements and we are really happy of the outcome of the week, from both the racing and the training.
"We're still quite a new team, we've got Will on the wing which is a really tough role to learn - it's only his fifth event - and we also had our new Swiss flight controller [Nicolas Rolaz]. Nico did a great job, he's really impressive and I think he's going to be one of the best in the future - it looks bright."
Also, on the water this week, the Swiss loaned its race boat, Eiger, to the league's Women's Pathway athletes, for two all-female athlete training sessions. It was the first time an all-female crew has sailed onboard an F50 together. Swiss sailing advisor and coach, Nathan Outteridge coached and lead the session. More here.
The 10 strong F50 fleet will next meet in the opening event of 2024, the first-ever Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council (13/14 January).
Switzerland SailGP Team crew line up:
Sébastien Schneiter - Driver
Will Ryan - Wing trimmer
Nicolas Rolaz - Flight controller
Julien Rolaz - Grinder (G1)
Eliot Merceron - Grinder (G1)
Jérémy Bachelin - Grinder (G2)
Laurane Mettraux - Strategist
Nathan Outteridge - Sailing advisor / Coach (on site)
François Morvan - Coach (remote)
Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas // Final Standings //
1 // New Zealand 10 points
2 // Australia 9 points
3 // Canada 8 points
4 // France 7 points
5 // Emirates GBR 6 points
6 // ROCKWOOL Denmark 5 points
7 // Switzerland 4 points
8 // United States 3 points
9 // Germany 2 points
10 // Spain 1 point
SailGP Season 4 Championship Standings (after six events) //
1 // Australia 52 points
2 // ROCKWOOL Denmark 41 points
3 // New Zealand 40 points
4 // Emirates GBR 38 points
5 // United Stated 35 points
6 // Spain 33 points
7 // Canada 32 points
8 // France 31 points
9 // Switzerland 15 points
10 // Germany 10 points
*Spain SailGP Team docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía-Cádiz
**New Zealand SailGP Team unable to compete in Taranto due to the structural failure of the team's wingsail at France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
***Canada SailGP Team Docked four points in Season Championship for eight-point penalty at France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
****Germany SailGP Team docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix
SailGP Season 4 Schedule //
2023
June 16-17 // Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier
July 22-23 // United States Sail Grand Prix | Los Angeles
September 9-10 // France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 23-24 // Italy Sail Grand Prix | Taranto
October 14-15 // Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía-Cádiz
December 9-10 // Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix | Presented by P&O Marinas
2024
January 13-14 // Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix Presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council
February 24-25 // KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney
March 23-24 // ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland
May 4-5 // Bermuda Sail Grand Prix
June 1-2 // ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix | Halifax
June 22-23 // United States Sail Grand Prix | New York
July 13-14 // SailGP Season 4 Grand Final | San Francisco