SailGP: Fresh winds test crews in San Francisco Practice session
by SailGP Media 13 Jul 2024 12:10 AEST
SailGP fleet - Practice session - SailGP Season 4 Grand Final - San Francisco, USA © Jed Jacobsohn/SailGP
The dramatic conclusion of SailGP’s Season 4 gets underway in less than 24 hours, with five fleet races determining who will earn a spot alongside Peter Burling’s Black Foils in Sunday’s winner-takes-all Grand Final race.
History will be made between the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island, as Australia’s Tom Slingsby vies for a four-peat and his rivals aim to overthrow an Aussie dynasty.
In Friday's the practice session, crews struggled to keep control of their F50s amid the heavy winds and choppy waters of San Francisco Bay, resulting in incident-filled practice racing.
Almost all teams had moments were they struggled to remain in control of their F50s, resulting in plenty of close calls and near capsizes.
The Swiss crew only just managed to avoid capsizing their F50 in the first fleet race, while Germany was seen skidding and bucking in and out of the water.
Spain and the United States both suffered dramatic crashes into the water, with water overflowing the boat and blocking the drivers’ views of the congested racecourse. Rockwool Denmark too was seen making close mark rounding but was the team to top the leaderboard after three fleet races.
New Zealand leads the Season 4 leaderboard heading into San Francisco with a massive 15 point lead over triple champions Australia in second, while Spain is close behind in third.
But there’s everything to play for when racing gets underway, with multiple teams capable of causing an upset in the 11th hour.
Speaking at Friday’s official opening press conference, ahead of the Practice racing, Burling said: “We’re here to let the performance on the water do the talking. It’s going to be a battle and we’re excited to have the opportunity to compete in the Grand Final. We want to make sure we put our best foot forward.
Australia enters the weekend 15 points behind their trans-Tasman rivals after a tumultuous season, plagued by technical challenges and a costly penalty. Slingsby, however, said the team would draw their confidence from their history at the venue - a history that includes three consecutive SailGP championship victories.
Reflecting on his season to date, Slingsby said: “It’s been a season of highs and lows for us. We sailed so well in the first half of this season and had seven podiums in a row. We take our confidence from this venue, our record in Grand Finals - we’ve got to find other ways to draw confidence and that’s from our history of racing here.”
Sitting behind league heavyweights Australia and New Zealand, lines have been drawn in the ‘Battle for Third’ between Spain’s Diego Botin and France’s Quentin Delapierre. Coming from a last-place finish in Season 3 to entering this weekend’s Grand Final in third overall - with two event wins and two additional podium finishes under their belts - Spain’s Diego Botin backed his young crew’s chances as the underdogs. It's a theory that's been tested and proven right - Spain defeated New Zealand and Australia in a three-boat final in Bermuda earlier this season.
“I think we can beat Australia and New Zealand and it will probably be one of the toughest things we’ve done,” said Botin. “We just need to focus on our performance and step up over the weekend - that will give us the best chance of getting into the Grand Final.”
Outlining Les Bleus’ approach to making the final, France’s Quentin Delapierre said he wouldn’t get caught up in ‘match racing’ with Botin - having learned from a losing battle with Emirates Great Britain in the fleet racing series of last season’s Grand Final.
Delappiere said: “The whole team will remember what we did wrong in San Francisco last year and we will keep this in mind over the weekend. It’s not all in our hands, we need Spain to have a bad performance, too.”
Looking ahead to the 2024/25 Season announced earlier this week, SailGP also confirmed that for the first time ever, teams will get vital training at two pre season training camps in Bermuda and Dubai, beginning in August and October, respectively. New drivers Giles Scott (Emirates GBR), Taylor Canfield (USA) and Erik Heil (GER) welcomed the news.
Canfield said: “We’re so excited - we’re looking forward to getting out there and refining techniques ahead of the new season.”
After months of speculation about his plans to earn a driving role in the 2024/25 Season, a visibly-emotional Nathan Outteridge signaled “an end of an era,” outlining plans to spend a year cruising with his family, before attempting to rejoin the league in Season 6.
“Hopefully in the future I can be back driving for a team but, right now, I just want to wish the guys the best for the Grand Final this weekend in San Francisco,” said Outteridge.
The SailGP Season 4 Grand Final in San Francisco gets underway Saturday and Sunday from 2.30 pm local time. The forecast is for a westerly breeze (blowing straight through the Golden Gate) at 19kts gusting 23kts.
Racing Schedule:
The SailGP Season 4 Grand Final in San Francisco gets underway tomorrow and Sunday from 2.30 pm local time.
Day 1 Racing: Saturday, July 13, 2.30 p.m. - 4.00 p.m. PST
Day 2 Racing: Sunday, July 14, 2.30 p.m. - 4.00 p.m. PST
SailGP Season 4 leaderboard after 12 Events
1 // New Zealand 93 points
2 // Australia 78 points
3 // Spain 76 points
4 // France 71 points
5 // Canada 67 points
6 // ROCKWOOL Denmark 67 points
7 // Emirates Great Britain 66 points
8 // United States 51 points
9 // Germany 35 points
10 // Switzerland 33 points
Season penalties
- Australia SailGP Team - docked eight points in Season Championship for 12-point penalty at ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch
- Canada SailGP Team - docked four points in Season Championship for eight-point penalty at France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
- Emirates Great Britain - docked four points in Season Championship for eight-point penalty at ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch
- Germany SailGP Team - docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix
- 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
- ROCKWOOL Denmark - docked four points in Season Championship for eight-point penalty at ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch
- Spain SailGP Team - docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía - Cádiz
- Switzerland SailGP Team - docked four points in Season Championship for eight-point penalty at Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council
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