SailGP: Burling ahead of triumph and praises German team - "has developed really well"
Max Gasser
· 23.06.2024
YACHT: You're leading the season rankings, but last year you failed in the final. How confident are you that it will work this time?
Peter Burling: It was a difficult season. We have lost the wing once and missed an event, so we were way behind all the other teams in terms of our training days on the water. I think it just shows the resilience of our team. We've been able to bounce back from some difficult circumstances and are now at the top of the league. But we also want to be the team that sets that bar in the final. We're not here to rest on our laurels and get comfortable, we're going to keep going until the end.
Record winner Tom Slingsby has to fight for a place in the final. Would you like to see a showdown without him?
To be honest, I don't mind. I think that the best boats will definitely be competing against each other. And if one of the other boats can make up six points on Australia (currently in third place, editor's note) between now and the final, then they will be on form. So I'm sure they'll be hard to beat too. There is a group of teams in the SailGPwho can put in a good race weekend and win an event. We've had a whole bunch of different event winners. There are obviously a few who are new to the league and are still struggling a bit, but there is a group of about five at the top, none of whom you would write off winning the weekend.
Is there anything in particular that your team has done so well this year?
I think we were just pretty consistent. We've won most of the finals we've entered. So we had the opportunity to get the maximum points. And I think there were a couple of situations where we really minimised the loss. I can only remember a couple of events where we lost significant points that we probably shouldn't have lost. Aside from the wing damage and missing an event, which is something out of our control. I think it's been a really solid season and we're just working on the little issues we have and trying to come up with some good strategies.
Do you feel any pressure before the last two events?
Yeah. I mean you always feel pressure, a lot of it is probably self-imposed because you really want to go into the final with good form. We've got a lot of fans here cheering us on this weekend, which is epic, but you want to put on a good show for them, but we're just looking forward to it.
What are the conditions like in New York?
It's a place where none of us have really sailed much, so the practice races were about getting to know the area, getting comfortable in the boat. It was very different to Halifax because it was very cold there. It's super hot here and there are also a lot more waves. Halifax is just fantastic, with the changing conditions and the flat water, but I think as a sailor you have to be good at everything. I definitely don't have a wind strength where I would say I would feel less comfortable in certain conditions going into a race. The weaker the wind gets, the more balanced it becomes. And the windier it gets, the more consequences there are if you push the boat too hard, but you have to be good in all areas.
So what will it take to win?
I think the team that gives its best will win. You have to be able to show your best side, it's as simple as that. The start will be really important. It's something where each team brings in their own strategies. It's really like a game of chess where the best starting positions change every time. So it's very hard to be consistent and make the right decisions because you don't know what the other boats are going to do sometimes exactly.
The German team's first season is coming to an end. How would you rate their performance?
The German team has developed really well. We've raced against Erik a lot over the years in the 49er, so we know them really well. I think they've made some smart decisions by going with James (Wierzbowski, Flight Controller; Editor's note.) and Stu (Bithell, Wing-Trimmer; Editor's note.) have brought in a few sailors who have already spent a lot of time on the F50 and then just tried to build progressively in a controlled way and be relatively consistent with their squad. If you look at someone like the Swiss, for example, who were in the league pretty much at the same time as us but had a lot of changes so they couldn't really make a good progression. I think the Germans have done a really good job of just building momentum. Because we have so little time to train, the most important thing you can do is evaluate how you're racing and try to get better, make smart decisions about how you compare to the fleet.
Do you see anything that they definitely need to do better for next season?
I think it's just a bit all over the place to be honest. I don't think anyone in the league has a really big weakness right now. So it's really just about making those little improvements everywhere and trying to be a little bit more consistent. That's the same thing I would say about our team, to be honest. That's what we're trying to keep doing to keep that edge. Just making those little improvements to make sure we're super consistent. That's the key to this league, being really consistent and making progress.
You were very successful in the 49er at Kieler Woche. Would you like to have an event in Germany next season?
Yes. I think that every team's home events are so important for the team and the home fans to go and cheer them on. The feeling I get when I compete at home is really special. Hopefully we have some good news to announce for next year's calendar for season five. Every team should have a home event to give their fans the opportunity to be there and in a really cost-effective way. Of course, many of the really passionate fans don't mind travelling, but that's the way to really build the fan base.
You are also an important part of New Zealand's America's Cup campaign. Is that mainly exhausting or is it mutually beneficial?
Everything has its pros and cons and if you do more than one thing, you are naturally very busy. That's definitely the downside, you generally hit the limits of exhaustion pretty hard. But when you look at the advantages, you can spend a whole heap of training and time in these high performance boats. I think it will be interesting to see how that develops in the future, but at the moment almost all the good teams have their sailors sailing more than just SailGP. Also because the logistics in SailGP are so tough and the training is so limited. I don't think it's enough to sail three days a month to stay at the top level. So at the moment you have to find something to supplement it.
What are the main differences between foiling catamarans and foiling monohulls?
The main difference is how they start and probably the speed from non-foiling to foiling. Once they get going, they are much more similar than most people would think. The same things work, the same characteristics are rewarded and it's really about making the most of the situations.
Most Cup pundits don't see you quite as far ahead as the previous edition in Auckland in 2021. How do you think your campaign is going and what are your expectations for the Cup?
We are really happy with how our campaign is going. We've just brought our boat to Barcelona to start the away part of our campaign after this event. It's super exciting to finally get to Barcelona and see everyone in action on the water. We're really pleased with how things are going, we've got a really good package and we're excited to see how much we can achieve by the America's Cup can still improve. The America's Cup is obviously different to SailGP and you have to balance the technological aspect to make sure you are fast enough. But I say that as a sailing team you have to be ready to race and win if the boats are similar. And we have shown that as a sailing team we are the best in the world, so we are really happy with our development.
So will we see the same foils on "Taihoro" in Barcelona as on the "Orient Express" (sister ship of the French team) or is there a secret?
We'll have to wait and see.
