SailGP: Showdown in San Francisco - how Team Germany's driver Erik Heil is looking ahead to the final
Tatjana Pokorny
· 12.07.2024
From Erik Heil
We are on the brink of the two million US dollar final in San Francisco. Our premiere season as a German team in the SailGP is racing towards the showdown with the 13th and final event on 13 and 14 July. While the frontrunners will be battling between the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz for a place in the final of the season's top three teams, we as newcomers to the Germany SailGP Team want to seize the opportunity to give it our all once again and maximise our chances of advancing in the upcoming fifth SailGP season.
Who will take the crown in the 4th SailGP season?
Black Foils, Flying Roos, Los Gallos or Les Bleus? The New Zealanders, the Australians, the Spaniards and the French start the last event of the season with hopes of reaching the final. Peter Burling's New Zealand Black Foils lead the season standings with 93 points, ahead of Australia (78 points), Spain (76 points) and France (71 points). The top three have the best prospects for the final. In my opinion, the teams from Canada and Denmark, who are tied in fifth and sixth place with 67 points, can hardly intervene in the battle for one of only three tickets to the final.
I wish my former Olympic sparring partner Diego Botin and his Spaniards great moments in San Francisco" (Erik Heil)
My assessment: Statistically, the Kiwis were by far the fastest team on the courses this season. The 49er Olympic champions and America's Cup defenders Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are hard to beat with their team. My hope: I wish my former Olympic sparring partner Diego Botin and his Spaniards great moments in San Francisco.
Los Gallos have a good chance of making the final cut. Perhaps the best light wind sailors of the season will manage the perfect race? I wish them all the best. Should there be plenty of wind, the Australians will be in play, even if they have not shone as brightly among the three favourites for the final with just one event win this season compared to the Kiwis (5 wins) and the Spaniards (2 wins) than in their previous three consecutive season championships. It's time for another team to stand on the top step of the podium at the end of this fourth SailGP season.
We knew that promotion would take a lot of hard work, a lot of time and even more patience. We knew that we would have to bring the qualities of a taker with us" (Erik Heil)
We exceeded our targets in the first year of our apprenticeship. We knew that promotion would take a lot of hard work, a lot of time and even more patience. We knew that we would have to bring the qualities of a taker with us. We knew that we wouldn't be able to catch up with the skills and knowledge of the experienced teams that have been with us for two or even three years due to the limited training opportunities on the SailGP racers.
Attack as the best defence in SailGP
After twelve events, we are the youngest newcomer to the league and in ninth place ahead of Switzerland ahead of the grand final. It has often felt even better this season. In purely mathematical terms, our previous rankings of 10th, 10th, 7th, 9th, 9th, 9th, 5th, 6th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th would even result in an average ranking of 7.75 in the field of ten teams from ten countries. We made it into the midfield several times and even had our first chance of making it into the final. That is a good performance for a premiere season in the experience sport of sailing and especially on the high-tech stage of the SailGP, which was also closely observed by our competitors. We will attack in San Francisco to defend our ninth place. To do this, we have to start confidently.
We believe that with a good starting structure, you can beat more experienced and successful teams" (Erik Heil)
An aperture for the technical experts: We believe that you can beat more experienced and successful teams with a good start structure. I started to steer from leeward into the starts so that I could be directly at the helm after the turn. Because otherwise the coordination is briefly interrupted when running from one side to the other, from one helm to the other. That could be a key area. No other team does that yet! We don't yet feel comfortable in all conditions, but we're working on it. It's a cool thing because you have all the options immediately after the turn.
Team Germany's wishes for the future of SailGP
We all know that training times on the SailGP's exclusive F50 catamarans are very short. To date, our German team has barely sailed 60 days on the high-tech foils, including the twelve events and training sessions to date and in addition to further development in the simulator. By way of comparison, top teams from the very beginning have currently had up to 700 days - and they're not stopping now. So our race to catch up will continue.
But we are chasing the top with depth in the team. If the SailGP future offers a training venue with one or even two training boats, that would be a game changer - especially for chasers like us. In Formula 1, for example, there is more wind tunnel time for new teams or teams that are not yet high up in the rankings. In US basketball, teams beyond the top teams can select the best players from college graduates first. In the SailGP, newcomers could be made stronger faster with more training time.
The right team composition for the SailGP ascent
When we launched the Germany SailGP team last year, we had to find the right people quickly and accurately. The SailGP marks a peak in our sport: you are looking for experienced people to start with, of which there are not very many in the world, as well as talented people with outstanding development potential. I also need a good fit in terms of character. The chemistry between the crew members has to be right so that the team can work together successfully in fractions of a second and under high pressure, grow together, overcome setbacks and move forward. I think we've done that well.
Our two strategists Sophie Steinlein and Anna Barth were the two biggest talents to emerge from their age segment. They impressed at the SailGP Foiling Base in Cadiz. We brought them into the team. They are doing a really good job. Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer is young, an efficient guy, quick on the uptake and has the power as a grinder. Felix van den Hövel is a fighter with a self-made career as a boat builder, including in the America's Cup, and has been with us since day one. He has actively sought, got and utilised his opportunity as a grinder in the team. He also recognises technical problems on board, knows immediately when something is wrong and can talk about it very specifically with the tech team.
Our wing trimmer Stuart Bithell had already caught my eye as an assertive team player in the Olympics" (Erik Heil)
Third in the grinder bunch is Dan Morris. He came from the US America's Cup challengers American Magic, is no ordinary grinder, but someone with a gigantic understanding of the big picture, who can also buffer a lot of stress and make a team strong. Our wing trimmer Stuart Bithell had already caught my eye as an assertive team player in the Olympics. He won silver and gold at the Olympics and showed that he can handle pressure. To the "Winning Attitude", he still has a good sense of humour.
Our flight controller is also one of my favourite characters in the team: James Wierzbowski, like Stu, joined the team with some SailGP experience, unselfishly and initially without any firm commitments, put himself one hundred percent at the service of the team. There is hardly anyone who is as deeply involved in the topics as he is. He radiates a great deal of calm.
The youngest SailGP newcomer on a good course
As a team, we are on a really good path. Consistency in the team constellation is just as important for us as constant further development in all areas. I was asked which three superpowers I would wish for from the teams of the first hour if I could. I would take the starts of the Australians, the speed of the New Zealanders and the light wind handling of the Spaniards. That would give us the core areas that we are working on at different levels with our coaches like Lennart Briesenick.
The 13th and final SailGP summit will take place this weekend (13/14 July). Wedo Sports broadcasts the races on both days from 11.30 pm.
