Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher MBE said the team was ‘disappointed’ with its result at the ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix, after fine margins saw the team miss out on the event final. After four races, Emirates GBR was just three points away from making the top two of its group, but the team faced a difficult last race in chaotic conditions which left them unable to claim the points they needed.
Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos claimed victory in the final against Northstar Canada, Spain’s Los Gallos and New Zealand’s Black Foils. The results mean Emirates GBR is now fourth on the Season Championship leaderboard, but Fletcher said his team is still focused on getting in the top three and defending their Season Championship title.
© Benjamin Rosewall for SailGP
Benjamin Rosewall for SailGP
Fletcher said: “I certainly feel like we can get into the grand final. Although this weekend’s result wasn’t what we wanted, it feels like quite a big step forward in how we’ve been sailing the boat, operating as a team and the communication on-board. There’s no doubt from here that we need to go out and be getting on the podium, but there’s plenty of events left and margins are always tight in SailGP.”
On Race Day 1 on Saturday, Emirates GBR set a new speed record for the team when the F50 hit 104.7km/h during practice laps. This was the fastest time recorded in SailGP, until DS Automobiles Team France then hit 107.63km/h during racing.
The 13 SailGP Teams were split into two groups for racing, with Spain, Switzerland, New Zealand, France, Denmark, Italy and Brazil forming Group A, while Emirates GBR was in Group B alongside Sweden, Canada, USA, Australia and Germany. There were three races for each group on Saturday, with Emirates GBR placing 5th, 2nd and 4th in their races. Emirates GBR then entered Race Day 2 on Sunday on seven points, just three points behind Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos who were top of the group. Race Day 2 saw the team place fourth and sixth in the two group races, after they fell victim to a shift in conditions on the Baltic Sea racecourse.
Emirates GBR Strategist Hannah Mills OBE said: “It was really random conditions today, we went from 22-23 knots to down to 10 at time. In the first race we were in a good spot then unfortunately it turned super wacky at the top and then we couldn’t get back into it. As a team, whilst this weekend wasn’t what we’d hoped, we feel like we’re in a much better place now and things are starting to click, so hopefully the better results will start coming.”
Emirates GBR will not have to wait too long for a chance to secure some better results, as SailGP will return in just two weeks time on 5 and 6 September in Valencia. It will be the championship’s debut in the Spanish city, and with sun-soaked beaches and roaring crowds lining Valencia’s iconic marina, the atmosphere promises to be nothing short of electric.