SailGP: Team Germany wants to reach the final - "We are ready to be at the front"

For the first time in SailGP history, the high-speed catamaran fleet will be competing in Canada this weekend. For the first time, the German crew will also be aiming to reach the final of the top three teams. In the three previous events, they have finished sixth twice and fifth once. In the season rankings, Team Germany is in ninth position despite the rising form curve in its first season.

"We're getting closer and closer to a possible final," says helmsman Erik Heil, confirming the clear goal for the third-to-last event of the season. In view of the good wind forecast, strategist Anna Barth also believes in success: "We are ready to be right at the front." The team wants to concentrate particularly on the starting strategy and speed.

19-year-old steers German F50 catamaran

During the first training days in Canada, however, the team had not yet got going due to technical difficulties and was also stopped by a thunderstorm warning on the first day. Hosts Canada saved the second day of training by making their catamaran available for a session while the German F50 was being repaired. "That was frustrating on the one hand, but we were able to test the Canadian boat and it was impressive how different the boats felt," said Erik Heil.

It must have been a great relief for Thomas Riedel and Sebastian Vettel's team to be able to train in the best conditions after all. As the training days in the SailGP are very limited, Germany, as the newest team in the league, still has a training deficit to make up against the top teams. Strategist Anna Barth was also able to gain important experience. For the first time, the 19-year-old 49erFX helmswoman was able to take the helm of the high-speed catamaran for a longer period of time. "That gave me great self-confidence and I'm going into the race weekend with a good feeling," says the Hamburg native.

In front of a sell-out crowd, all ten teams will once again compete against each other in Halifax after the US team capsized in Bermuda. This could lead to a heated neighbourly duel between Canada and the USA, who are only a few points apart in sixth and seventh place in the season rankings. However, the clear favourite is Phil Robertson, who is already in the lead and wants to put in a strong performance at his home event. Newcomer Taylor Canfield with the replaced US team will first have to prove himself after his failure in Bermuda and very inconsistent performances so far.

• US team capsizes off Bermuda - sailors without serious injuries, wings damaged

Season finale: Watch Sebastian Vettel's SailGP team live on TV

The forecast conditions with strong winds will ensure plenty of action on the race course close to the coast and will challenge all teams. A new venue is a major challenge anyway.

While New Zealand is ten points ahead of the record winners from Australia at the top of the season rankings, the battle for third and final place in the grand final is coming to a head. The winner of the grand finale in San Francisco, in which only the top three teams in the season rankings are allowed to take part and win the league in a single race, will receive prize money totalling two million US dollars. The other two teams go away empty-handed. Spain is currently in the lead, but Denmark and France are only nine points behind. A good performance in Halifax could easily see them close the gap by the penultimate event in New York.

Meanwhile, the Germany SailGP Team is in ninth place, 16 points behind Great Britain and six points ahead of the Swiss, which means they also have an important event ahead of them. The crew around Erik Heil can be followed on both race days from 9 pm German time on wedotv. The races will once again be commentated by sailing experts Tobias Schadewaldt and Thomas Plößel.