SailGP: Slingsby: “It takes bravery to race in San Francisco's extreme conditions”
by SailGP Media 21 Mar 2025 16:22 PDT
Practice Day - Rolex SailGP - March 21, 2025 - San Francisco © Ricardo Pinto/SailGP
This weekend's racing venue of San Francisco poses the 'most extreme conditions of the circuit', which require 'a lot of bravery' to compete, Australia driver Tom Slingsby has said.
Slingsby's team has won three of SailGP's four visits to San Francisco and was unbeaten here until Spain clinched the Season 4 Championship title last season.
Speaking at a pre-event press conference ahead of racing this weekend, Slingsby offered his key takeaways for mastering the San Francisco venue.
It's crucial, he said, 'to keep an eye on the conditions', which are the 'most extreme' of the 2025 Season calendar. "The highest winds, the biggest waves, the coldest conditions at times on the water," he said. This requires teams to 'push the boat harder', requiring a 'lot of bravery' for those teams chasing victory.
"If you want to win, you need to push harder than anyone else," he said.
Reflecting on Australia's chances of winning here this weekend, Slingsby said the team previously had 'an advantage in stronger winds'.
"We had more experience than other teams, but as we saw last season with Spain taking the win [in San Francisco], other teams are stepping up in that regard," he said, adding that the team's 'advantage has definitely diminished a lot here'.
This was backed up by Spain strategist Nicole van der Velden who predicted the racing to be 'super close'.
"I think [the racing] is getting closer and closer and more teams can take the wins - the difference between getting into a Final or not is one silly mistake or one wrong call," she said, adding that the event title is 'anyone's to grab'.
"We all need to be sharp and on our game," she added.
Meanwhile Slingsby pledged a strong performance when racing begins on March 22 at 2.30pm PDT. "We still think we're a tough team to beat and we're going to try and show that this weekend."
The Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix takes place on March 22/23.