At the end of the four races on the first of the two SailGP race days in Saint-Tropez, the German balance sheet looked good: Positioned fourth in the field of twelve teams and only three points behind the leading trio of Brits, New Zealanders and Spaniards, Erik Kosegarten-Heil and his team can fight for their first entry into a SailGP final on a veritable basis on Saturday.
SailGP in Saint-Tropez: Right of way taken
Until then, a lot happened on the short course on the Côte d'Azur in powerful gusty and shifting winds. The race day began with a completely botched German start after Quentin Delapierre and his Les Bleus had denied the German boat a better start. "The French took the right of way from us at the start. Then we had to start at the back," reported grinder Joanathan Knottnerus-Meyer later in the ZDF interview.
The doctor from Kiel already knew during the races: "It looks really nasty when the other boats that have just started take the wind away from us. It takes a few seconds for the wind to come back. We then got back in quite well, but unfortunately we didn't quite make the layline to the buoy on the last leg, fell off the foils and lost two more boats." Australians, Brits and Spaniards took the first three places at the start.
It wasn't quite the start we had planned." Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer
The German racing team did not want to take this lying down. Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer put it like this: "We can actually sail better than what we have just shown. Of course it hurts to lose two more boats on the last leg. But we can switch off - full throttle in the next race!"
SailGP premiere for Linov Scheel
And there was indeed a clear improvement in race two. While Peter Burling's Black Foils caught the Canadians shortly before reaching the finish line in the battle for victory and the Spaniards once again came in third, Team Germany was able to improve with fifth place. 49er sailor Linov Scheel from Kiel, who has been supporting the team for a while, experienced his first SailGP race as a grinder. "It was mega fun, but also mega exhausting," said the man from the Kiel Yacht Club in Saint-Tropez.
In race three, the Americans Giles Scott and the Canadian team NorthStar brutally spoilt the start with their strong anluve. Erik Kosegarten-Heil later commented on this and many other irregularities: "Today it felt a bit like people not really sticking to the rules. There were many 'situations' on the course, but also many technical problems."
Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer described the German performance in race three: "That was definitely much better. We finally got out well at the start. Then, unfortunately, we made the wrong turn at the first leeward buoy. That was a tactical mistake. But apart from that it was a good race."
The curious start to the fourth race
The Kieler also explained the astonishing acceleration of some of the teams: "There are gusts of wind that simply allow an extra ten kilometres per hour. Then you go ahead." For the first time since entering the SailGP this season, Ruggero Tita and Red Bull Italy achieved a race win in this third race. Diego Botin's Los Gallos and Peter Burling's Black Foils sailed to second and third place.
The fourth race was the German team's moment. This was preceded by a curious start: because the French team had started too early and had sprinted into the centre of the starting box, they had to line up their boat. This forced more than half the fleet to slow down as well. Because Team Germany was downwind of the rapidly growing chaos, Erik Kosegarten-Heil and his crew were able to leave the centre of the line with good timing and a clear wind. They reached the important first mark in commanding first place.
The team defended this good position almost to the finish before Dylan Fletcher caught Black-Red-Gold with Emirates GBR at the last minute. Erik Kosegarten-Heil said after the race: "Of course you always like to be the first around the first turning mark. This is an absolute highlight. It definitely feels good." However, the two-time Olympic bronze medallist was also a little annoyed that he had to concede to the 2021 Olympic 49er champion shortly before reaching the finish line.
That was actually stupid. We should have just matched the boys." Erik Kosegarten-Heil
The Germans did not heed the classic match race tactics on the way to the finish line, fearing that their pursuers might gain pressure and also catch up and possibly overtake the two boats in front. As a result, it was the Brits who, with half a dozen knots of extra speed, managed to speed past the German F50 foiler. Third place in the fourth race went to Martine Grael and her team Mubadala Brasil.
In theory, you would just go with the opponent in such a situation and make sure that the opponent doesn't get past. In practice, it's always a bit more difficult." Erik Kosegarten-Heil
The 36-year-old helmsman from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein was not without self-criticism after the first day, but was nevertheless cautiously optimistic. In an interview with ZDF reporter Nils Kaben on Friday afternoon, Erik Kosegarten-Heil said: "We basically had a bad start with the first race. That was pretty difficult. We got off to a good start in the second and third races and also had a good start in the fourth. That means for us overall: satisfactory in any case."
Team Germany ahead of the record winners at half-time
Before the other races on Saturday, which ZDF will again be broadcasting here from 12.30pm with commentator Kristin Recke and reporter Nils KabenErik Kosegarten-Heil set the pace: "We are on the right track. Showing performance is one thing. Confirming performance is another. We definitely want to confirm our performance."
The Germany SailGP team of Thomas Riedel and Sebastian Vettel earned a chance to reach the final for the first time on this day off Saint-Tropez. After four races, Team Emirates GBR (31 points) were just ahead of New Zealand's Black Foils (30 points) and Los Gallos (25 points) in the intermediate standings.
Tom Slingsby's favoured Bonds Flying Roos, on the other hand, had a rollercoaster day, winning the first race but then falling off course with two tenth-place finishes. The Australians just managed to salvage the day with fourth place in the final race, but found themselves in fifth place after four races and three points behind Team Germany. Click here for the intermediate results in Saint-Tropez.
REPLAY! The international broadcast of the first SailGP race day in Saint-Tropez in the replay:
