The first day of SailGP in Cadiz was magnificent. The French were excellent competing with the best and climbed to the top of the table after 3 races. An ideal position to run for the final on Sunday. With regattas in contact, the show was there.
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This Saturday, in the Andalusian arena, in a regular westerly wind of around a dozen knots, one of the difficulties consisted in maintaining the balance in flight of the large catamarans, a balance undermined by a strong chop coming from the wide. This is what the three winners of the day managed to do. But also and above all the French, who can pay tribute to the work of their flight controller François Morvan. The tricolors won this Saturday the palm of regularity, thanks to this control, but also thanks to their departures and their ease in contact with their opponents.
Tkings races, three different winners
Quentin and his troop were first very close to winning the first race, a race they will dominate for more than half of the course, under the permanent pressure of the Kiwi boat. The incessant crossover between the two rivals will finally turn to the advantage of the New Zealanders.
The latter will be less dashing during the second regatta, won by Australians flying on a cloud. Slingsby and his clan will evolve very far in front, leaving the English, the Spaniards and the French to tear themselves apart for the places of honor.
Last in the opening race due to a crash from which they will not recover, the British will increase in aggressiveness and efficiency throughout the day. They are the ones who won the 3rd race, not without having battled with the Australians, the French and the Americans.
Melee
This Saturday, the bay of Cádiz was the scene of some serious hand-to-hand combat between the crews of the top 5. And in the end, the differences between the teams at the end of this inaugural day are felt: there are still many hope to qualify for the final. Including the Spaniards, authors of a great performance today in front of their public.
The French, tied in points with the Australian leaders, are obviously very well placed. And it’s with “la niaque” that they approach the last three selection races which will be contested on Sunday afternoon, in similar sailing conditions.
They said :
Quentin Delapierre, pilot of the France SailGP Team: “François Morvan did a great job keeping the boat balanced in the waves. It allowed us to stay at the front of the fleet thanks to our flight stability. Add to that our good starts. I believe this is the first time that we have had three practically winning starts. We are starting to have a solid team, which listens and works well together. Kévin was able to move the boat forward with François who did a brilliant job today. We didn’t crash once. Where we have made progress is in the distribution of roles to remain lucid and stay one step ahead. Tomorrow, we will have to keep this good communication, this good cohesion and this fluidity in the crew, while taking care of our grinders who are starting to tire with the series of Sail Grand Prix. »
CLASSIFICATION Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía – Cádiz presented by NEAR
DAY 1/2 CLASSIFICATION AFTER 3 RACES
1- AUSTRALIA / Tom Slingsby 24 pts
2- FRANCE / Quentin Delapierre 24 pts
3- GREAT BRITAIN / Ben Ainslie 22 pts
4- UNITED STATES / Jimmy Spithill 21 pts
5- NEW ZEALAND / Peter Burling 21 pts
6- SPAIN / Jordi Xammar 19 pts
7- CANADA / Phil Robertson 12 pts
8- SWITZERLAND / Sébastien Schneiter 10 pts
9- DENMARK / Nicolai Sehested 9 pts
RACE 1
1- NEW ZEALAND / Peter Burling 10 pts
2- FRANCE / Quentin Delapierre 9 pts
3- UNITED STATES / Jimmy Spithill 8 pts
4- SPAIN / Jordi Xammar 7 pts
5- SWITZERLAND / Sébastien Schneiter 6 pts
6- AUSTRALIA / Tom Slingsby 5 pts
7- CANADA / Phil Robertson 4 pts
8- GREAT BRITAIN / Ben Ainslie 3 pts
9- DENMARK / Nicolai Sehested 2 pts
RACE 2
1- AUSTRALIA / Tom Slingsby 10 pts
2- GREAT BRITAIN / Ben Ainslie 9 pts
3- SPAIN / Jordi Xammar 8 pts
4- FRANCE / Quentin Delapierre 7 pts
5- UNITED STATES / Jimmy Spithill 6 pts
6- NEW ZEALAND / Peter Burling 5 pts
7- DENMARK / Nicolai Sehested 4 pts
8- CANADA / Phil Robertson 3 pts
9- SWITZERLAND / Sébastien Schneiter 2 pts
RACE 3
1- GREAT BRITAIN / Ben Ainslie 10 pts
2- AUSTRALIA / Tom Slingsby 9 pts
3- FRANCE / Quentin Delapierre 8 pts
4- UNITED STATES / Jimmy Spithill 7 pts
5-NEW ZEALAND / Peter Burling 6 pts
6- CANADA / Phil Robertson 5 pts
7- SPAIN / Jordi Xammar 4 pts
8- DENMARK / Nicolai Sehested 3 pts
9- SWITZERLAND / Sébastien Schneiter 2 pts
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