Tom Slingsby’s Australian team won the British leg of SailGP, with fans treated to a fine show in sunny weather in PlymouthThousands of fans turned up on Plymouth Hoe, and hundreds of spectator boats lined the F50 racecourse in Plymouth Sound as the sold out Great Britain SailGP\u00a0took place over the weekend of 17-18 July.<\/p>\n
Tom Slingsby\u2019s Australia SailGP Team celebrated its first victory of SailGP Season 2, being crowned event winners of the Great Britain SailGP, as thousands of sun-drenched fans were also treated to a race win for the home team.
\nThe Season 1 Champions were defeated by Great Britain in the final race of the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess earlier this season, but got its revenge on British waters to make an astounding comeback, ultimately winning the event after a thrilling three-boat final between Australia, U.S and France.
\nSlingsby said: \u201cWe\u2019re now three events in, we\u2019ve had lead changes at each one with different people winning each time, and we\u2019re just starting the rollercoaster. We\u2019ve got plenty more turns ahead.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve come from close to the top of the leaderboard, to down at the bottom, and now we\u2019re back at the top. There\u2019s no form guide, every team has its day, and we\u2019ve just got to hold on for the ride to try and make that Grand Final in San Francisco next March.\u201d
\nCelebrating with his Australia crew members was an ecstatic Nick Hutton, the team\u2019s grinder, who hails from Devon, UK.
\nAustralia SailGP Team in action. Photo Jon Buckle \/ SailGP
\nHutton said: \u201cIt\u2019s always great to win and for me it\u2019s extra special winning in Plymouth. It\u2019s as close as I\u2019m ever going to get to racing at home so I\u2019m super happy. The last race was very hectic for us, we didn\u2019t make it easy for ourselves, but it was great to get it done.\u201d
\nThe French team \u2013 driven by Billy Besson and with Brit Leigh McMillan onboard \u2013 was always in the hunt over the weekend and never out of the top three. After a nail biting final race \u2013 that saw multiple lead changes \u2013 they eventually took home the silver. With its second podium finish of the season, France has been consistently racking up the points to maintain a solid position among the top three overall leaders in the global championship.
\nArticle continues below\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSailGP: All you need to know about the 2021 season<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhen Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts launched SailGP back in 2018, the plan was that, by 2021, the series would\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul Goodison on how to drive a foiling F50\u00a0in SailGP<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul Goodison is one of the most talented foiling sailors around \u2013 he\u2019s a three-time International Moth World Champion and\u2026<\/p>\n
Besson said: \u201cWe had a bad start during the first race and we know the starts are really important. The start in Race 5 was much better and we finished second, which meant we were able to qualify for the final. We were very happy to be there and we tried to win but it was a difficult race.
\n\u201cWe have learned a lot over the past few events. We\u2019ll keep working to remain stable and stay in the mix. We\u2019re in a good position and we hope to still be fighting at the front by the end of the season, we\u2019re not here for nothing!\u201d
\nAfter kicking off the season with two disappointing results due to sustaining damage to their F50 in both events to date, Jimmy Spithill\u2019s United States SailGP Team took to the podium for a hard-fought third place finish in Plymouth.
\nSpithill said: \u201cIt was a good day because we made the final race again but unfortunately we had a bit of a technical issue on our starboard rudder that was deteriorating throughout the day. It was a good result for the team, given what had happened in the first two events. We\u2019ve climbed our way up the leaderboard to mid-table and it\u2019s very tight so we\u2019re happy with that.
\n\u201cAnytime you get to compete in the podium race it\u2019s a great position to be in. The team sailed well all weekend and we\u2019ve just got to keep doing that. We\u2019ve got to keep putting ourselves in the position to win a Grand Prix.\u201d
\nWhile the British could not qualify for the final podium race in front of its home fans, interim driver Paul Goodison earned the loudest cheer of the day when his team crossed the finish line to win the fifth race of the weekend. Goodison, in his final event driving the British F50 before Ben Ainslie\u2019s return to the wheel, signed off his SailGP stint with a fourth-place finish in Plymouth.
\nGoodison said: \u201cThat was a special day. It felt fantastic to cross the finish line in first place in front of our brilliant home support at the end. There was a lot of pressure to perform after yesterday and it was really impressive how the whole team rallied. There were so many positive vibes going out there this morning and then seeing all the fans and hearing all the noise coming from them on the water was just incredible.
\n\u201cThe team sailed very well. There are a bunch of really talented athletes on the boat and the team in the chase boat were incredibly supportive. For me, it\u2019s been a great pleasure to have been involved in this team and I\u2019m just thankful that we\u2019ve given it back to Ben in a similar shape to what I took it off him. That\u2019s a big relief.\u201d
\nAustralia and Britain fight it out during SailGP in Plymouth, UK. Photo: Bob Martin \/ SailGP
\nOver the weekend, SailGP has worked closely with Plymouth City Council to ensure fans have been able to safely enjoy the high-octane action from the shore and on-water.
\nLeader of Plymouth City Council, Councillor Nick Kelly, said: \u201cAll I can say is \u2013 wow! What an absolutely incredible weekend in Britain\u2019s Ocean City. The atmosphere along the waterfront was electric and Plymouth Sound really has made a fantastic stage for the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix.
\n\u201cNot only that, but the week leading up to SailGP has seen so many people in Plymouth getting involved and engaging with the ocean, including STEM sessions for school children and free sailing experiences for young people and people with disabilities, which is amazing.\u201d
\nSailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts said: \u201cThe crowds were loving it. I went for a walk during the race to see what the reaction was and they were really engaged. I think Plymouth should be really proud of the event here. They really did deliver a magnificent event. One that I will certainly remember for a long time.\u201d
\nPreparing for the fourth event of the season, SailGP turns its attention to Aarhus, Denmark where driver Nicolai Sehested and the Denmark SailGP Team will play host for the first time at the ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix, August 20-21.
\nSehested said: \u201cIt\u2019s going be fantastic to race in front of our home crowd in Aarhus. It\u2019s going to be a great event, hopefully with good winds and good sailing. In terms of pressure it doesn\u2019t change much, we want to perform at every event, but we are really going to enjoy sailing in front of our home fans and family.\u201d
\nFocused on making constant improvements, the Danish team finished off the weekend with a third place finish in the last fleet race, to finish fifth on the leaderboard. Japan, New Zealand and Spain completed the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix leaderboard in sixth, seventh and eighth positions, respectively.
\nFollowing Denmark, the league will complete its final two European events in Saint-Tropez, France (September 11-12) and Cadiz-Andalusia, Spain (October 9-10) before heading to the Southern Hemisphere for the Sydney Sail Grand Prix, December 17-18, to finish off 2021. Racing picks up again in the new year starting in Christchurch, New Zealand (January 29-30), and the Grand Final in San Francisco, U.S. (March 26-27).<\/p>\n
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The post SailGP: Australian team takes victory in British leg appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tom Slingsby’s Australian team won the British leg of SailGP, with fans treated to a fine show in sunny weather in PlymouthThousands of fans turned up on Plymouth Hoe, and hundreds of spectator boats lined the F50 racecourse in Plymouth … <\/p>\n