Giles Scott secures his first SailGP win in Canada
by Emirates GBR SailGP Team 3 Jun 2024 12:22 HKT
1-2 June 2024
Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team helmed by Giles Scott celebrate on stage after winning the ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax, Canada © Andrew Baker for SailGP
Giles Scott, the double Olympic gold medallist, has won his first SailGP event since taking over from Sir Ben Ainslie as Driver of the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team in January.
Scott, who incidentally spent part of his childhood growing up in Canada, has won the first ever SailGP event in the country, the ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix. The British crew put on a solid display of sailing in epic conditions as they managed to hit speeds of 93kmh to take the victory on the Halifax Harbour. Emirates GBR showed their class as they sailed their F50 race boat excellently amid gusts of 40kmh and a downpour of rain that reduced visibility. Emirates GBR Driver Giles Scott said he was "absolutely buzzing" to secure his first SailGP win.
Sir Ben Ainslie, Emirates GBR's CEO, was quick to congratulate Giles and the team posting on social media: "Never in doubt! Awesome effort from Giles Scott, Hannah Mills and the rest of the team. That's how you bounce back from a rough patch."
Speaking after the win, Scott said: "It was an awesome day of racing despite the super tricky conditions. A lot of rain came in and it was gusty and shifty out there. I just feel very fortunate to have an amazing crew to sail with and we absolutely nailed it this weekend, we're all really stoked.
"It's our first win with me in the Driver role and it's definitely a confidence boost. It's pretty easy in this League to feel like you're not doing the role justice so it's nice to get our first win together and to put a marker down that I am capable. We're excited for the next event in New York later this month, we've got a lot of work to do to make that Grand Final in San Francisco but we are going to focus on learning and improving to put us in a good position for next season."
The conditions challenged even the most experienced teams in the fleet, with Australia suffering a dramatic capsize in race five. Thankfully all team members were accounted for and no injuries were sustained. The boat has been recovered and the extent of the damage is currently being assessed.
The second day of the ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix was initially delayed due to strong winds in the Nova Scotia capital on Sunday. Craning of the F50 race boats into the water had to be suspended until the gusts passed, and only eight out of 10 teams made it on to the course for racing, with USA and Switzerland missing out on the action.
It was a solid event for Emirates GBR, with them entering the second day of racing on the top spot of the leaderboard, after finishing the three fleet races on Saturday with results of third, fifth and second. Emirates GBR's strong performance carried on into Sunday with them finishing the two fleet races in third and second, securing their spot in the three-boat event final alongside France and ROCKWOOL Denmark. Giles Scott's crew nailed the start of the final race and made it to mark one first to lead the race. The French and Danish teams put up a good fight but were unable to catch up with the Brits who steamed across the finish line as winners of the first ever Canadian SailGP event.
Emirates GBR Strategist Hannah Mills said: "It's epic to be up on the winners podium. It was full on extreme sailing out there with massive gusts. Giles did a great job getting us in a good position in that final race and getting us first round mark one, which is always the goal. The wind was shifting and the gusts were coming thick and fast so we didn't have a chance to sit back and enjoy it, it was full gas to the finish.
"I'm so proud of Giles, he's done an amazing job. SailGP is such a hard league to come into, particularly as a Driver and he's done a phenomenal job. The last two events we felt like the performance was coming so to secure the win here in Halifax is such a good feeling."
UK viewers can relive all the action from Race Day Two in a delayed broadcast on ITV4 at 01:00 BST. A Highlights Show will also be shown on 8 June at 12:25 BST on ITV4. SailGP returns for the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix on 22-23 June.