Not every beginning is magical. While the reigning British SailGP champions made the first event of the new season their gala after a somewhat stuttering start, other teams struggled. Among them was the Germany SailGP Team, which struggled to tame the somewhat calmer, but still powerful Fremantle Doctor in the new crew constellation.
On the second day of racing, the F50 foilers with crews of six and the 18 metre high wing reached top speeds of up to 95 km/h, sailing close to the SailGP speed record of 103.93 km/h set by the Danish team Rockwool Racing off Sassnitz last summer.
Champion Brits win SailGP season opener
Olympic 49er champion Dylan Fletcher, 470 double Olympic champion Hannah Mills, Stuart Bithell, Luke Parkinson, Neil Hunter and Nick Hutton took advantage of these conditions for Team Emirates GBR, securing victory in the first event of season six. In Australia, they relegated Tom Slingsby's home team Bonds Flying Roos and DS Automobiles France to second and third place in the three-way final. The Brits dominated the showdown after they had left a few feathers in their cap on day one with Fleetrace results of 5, 3, 7 and 5.
On day two, things went almost perfectly for Fletcher and Co. with two out of three race wins in the final fleet races. In the final, the Brits gave neither the Australians nor Les Bleus a chance with a determination that was as convincing as it was precise. "It feels like I'm on cloud nine," said Dylan Fletcher immediately after the decision. He continued: "We had a disappointing day yesterday and didn't get the results we wanted. So we went out there today and fired away." Click here for the final results of the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix.
Today was simply sensational. Fremantle and Perth have shown what they are made for." Dylan Fletcher
A series of crashes, breakages, retirements and injuries had kept teams and the league on tenterhooks until the final of the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix. On the Australian mogul slope in the stormy Fremantle Doctor, the Spaniards were the first to retire with irreparable breakages and were unable to compete in the eagerly awaited season opener. Then there were injuries.
SailGP action: Breakage, cancellations, injuries
Chris Draper from the Swedish Artemis Racing team had to have stitches in his face in hospital. The experienced wing trimmer was catapulted face-first onto the trampoline between the fuselages during a manoeuvre in training due to enormous G-forces. For the Bonds Flying Roos, top wing trimmer Iain Jensen had to be replaced following a knee injury. Foiling legend Glenn Ashby spontaneously came into the team.
The Olympic silver medallist, America's Cup winner and champion of many fast classes performed strongly from a standing start. "He did such a good job in these conditions! Even people with five or six years' experience were struggling today. He only had two days. Only a Glenn Ashby can do that. We are very happy with second place," said SailGP record winner and driver Tom Slingsby, paying tribute to the prominent replacement.
However, Slingsby also admitted that it had been a little "painful" to be beaten by the Brits on home turf. Nevertheless, he saw second place as a strong team performance under the circumstances and said: "I told my wife on Thursday evening after Goobs' (ed.: Iain Jensen) injury that we'd be lucky to come away with a top-six finish here. I think we have to be over the moon with second place."
A crash and its consequences: Kiwi exit and Swiss comeback
The series of crashes continued in the Perth and Fremantle area after the first starting signal on Saturday: New Zealanders and Swiss were hit on the first day of racing. The Kiwi racing catamaran was so badly damaged in their crash that it could no longer be used. In the meantime, however, the Black Foils are confident that they will be able to show up with a top boat for their own home race in Auckland in mid-February.
After the collision with the Kiwis, Sébastian Schneiter's Swiss team managed a lightning repair and at least made a comeback on day two. However, after missing the first day of racing, the Swiss were left with no more than eleventh place in the final classification after only one day of racing. Great on day one, a few stumbles on day two: the new Swedish team Artemis Racing with helmsman Nathan Outteridge and a select crew impressed the fleet as expected at its premiere event, even if not everything went smoothly.
With fourth place after the seven fleet races, Artemis Racing only just missed out on the first final at the first event, but showed that even as newcomers they are rightly counted among the favourites for the new SailGP season. Nathan Outteridge said: "Today was a bit of a pain. In particular we had a terrible last start with some avoidable mistakes. I think there's just a bit of rust here and there."
Difficult start for the Germany SailGP Team
The Germany SailGP Team also had a bumpy start to season six. This was not entirely unexpected following the transfer of wing trimmer Stu Bithell from the German to the British team. While the former team mate happily won with the British after his departure on Sunday and delivered "a phenomenal job" in the champion team under high performance pressure, not only according to strategist Hannah Mill, the crew around Erik Kosegarten-Heil and the new wing trimmer Kevin Peponnet (France) still looking for form.
We had hoped for a better result here." Erik Kosegarten-Heil
Weak starts and a series of position losses during the races meant that the German racing team was unable to finish higher than ninth at the start of the season. "It was challenging for us in a new constellation," said Erik Kosegarten-Heil. With finishes of 10th, 7th, 5th, 9th, 8th, 9th and 8th, Team Germany initially fell short of their own hopes of a top six finish by the end of the season at the Australian opener.
The 36-year-old driver sees more than one reason for this setback at the start of the season. The boat felt "strange" on day one. Erik Kosegarten-Heil said: "We didn't really find the speed and weren't really happy in the manoeuvres either." Both race days were "a bit frustrating", but the season is still long, said the co-founder of the Germany SailGP Team. His team is looking forward to moving forward again with the next steps.
The Auckland sequel follows on Valentine's Day
The sixth SailGP season will continue with a total of 13 teams and 13 events on 14/15 February in Auckland. Click here for the season guide. On 22/23 August, Sassnitz will host Formula 1 sailing for the second time. The season, which is worth a total of 12.8 million US dollars, ends on 28/29 October in Abu Dhabi.
