(August 19, 2022) – The SailGP global sports league returned to Denmark for Season 3, but after hosting the event a year ago in Aarhus, the move to Copenhagen has come with landmines… or watermines. The capital and most populous city of Denmark has rocks on the race course.
After the Spanish team’s rudder was damaged in an underwater collision while training, the Great Britain SailGP Team hit a rock under their starboard hull which snapped the head of the starboard rudder clean off along with problems to the foil and board case.
It is not known what instructions were given to the teams, and while the Spanish have not revealed much about their incident, the Brits were careful to state how they came in contact with “an uncharted rock just outside the racecourse boundary.”
Overnight repairs for the Spanish SailGP Team will have them on the start line but the Brits will be watching the event from the sidelines.
“We reviewed the damage ashore and unfortunately it has put us out of this event, which is a difficult call for the team,” said team co-owner and driver Ben Ainslie. “Incidents like this are tough but that’s sport, you’re going to have these moments and the teams that keep their heads up are the ones that come back stronger and that’s what we are going to do.
“We appreciate all the support from the SailGP Tech Team to retrieve the boat and help repair the damage ready for racing in Saint-Tropez next month.”
SailGP information – Denmark details – Season 3 scoreboard – Facebook – How to watch
Season Three Standings (after three events)
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby – 29 points
2. Great Britain, Ben Ainslie – 24 points
3. New Zealand, Peter Burling – 22 points
4. Canada, Phil Robertson – 22 points
5. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested – 20 points
6. France, Quentin Delapierre – 15 points
7. United States, Jimmy Spithill – 13 points
8. Spain, Jordi Xammar – 8 points
9. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter – 7 points
2022-23 SailGP Season 3 Schedule
May 14-15, 2022 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess
June 18-19, 2022 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier
July 30-31, 2022 – Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Plymouth
August 19-20, 2022 – ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix | Copenhagen
September 10-11, 2022 – France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 24-25, 2022 – Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía – Cádiz
November 12-13, 2022 – Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas
January 13-14, 2023 – Singapore Sail Grand Prix
February 17-18, 2023 – Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney
March 17-18, 2023 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch
May 6-7, 2023 – United States Sail Grand Prix | San Francisco (Season 3 Grand Final)
Format for 2022-23 SailGP events:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• There are three races on each day, totaling six races at each event.
• The opening five fleet races involve every team.
• The final match race pits the three highest ranking teams against each other to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the $300,000 prize money to be split among the top three teams.
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race – a winner-takes-all match race for the $1m prize.
For competition documents, click here.
Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing in some of the iconic harbors around the globe. Rival national teams compete in identical F50 catamarans for event prize money as the season culminates with a $1 million winner-takes-all match race.
Source: SailGP
