F50 – Singapore SailGP 2023 – Promising start to the year for Team France SailGPAdonnante.com – Sport Sailing News – Offshore Racing – Americas Cup – Light Sailing

© Felix Demmer

© Eloi Stichelbaut

New Zealand battled from a four-point penalty before the event to take dominant wins over Denmark and Australia on the final day of racing in Singapore. The Danish Kiwis Nikolaj Sehested and Australia’s Tom Slingsby left on their heels and wowed the crowds with a 100% flying time, an average speed of 53km/h and a top speed of 77.1km/h.

It’s the third win of the season for the team that started the event with -4 points after crashing the USA in practice.

Speaking after the win, driver Peter Burling said: “It’s an incredible feeling to achieve it today and everyone did a great job.

“We sailed constantly all week – it’s a shame to get those penalty points this season, but it’s good to go out and show what we’ve got and how strong this team is.”

Burling said he was “more nervous” during the pre-start, as the 33 km/h mounting pressure sent crews scrambling to defuse the large 29-meter wing. Australia got off to the fastest start at 63.4km/h, while Denmark was closest to the cannon – just six meters from the line – but the New Zealanders had the best angle at the first mark.

A poor maneuver by the Australians in the third leg of the race sent them to the back of the field before Denmark hit the water at gate 3 – allowing the New Zealanders to extend their lead to over 100 metres.

However, Australia’s third-place finish marked another difficult performance by the tournament leaders, particularly given the loss of wing-maker Kyle Langford to injury.

A second place from Denmark would be a welcome result for the Sehested crew, whose last podium finish dates back to last August at the site of the ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix.

The second day of the race witnessed a remarkable improvement in the performance of the young Swiss crew of Sebastian Schneiter, who achieved his first victory in the first race of the day, followed by a second place in the last fleet race. The crew, which benefited from the excellent tactical decisions of strategist Nathan Outridge, lost first place in the final by only two points.

This result means that all nine teams in the league have won races, which proves the evolution of the fleet.

This weekend, France, led by Quentin Delapiere, put in an unusually poor performance. With a 7-9-4-6 record, she finished eighth overall and missed out on third place overall in the championship.

The USA also failed to weather the pressures of the event, finishing seventh overall and almost certainly excluding themselves from the Grand Final in San Francisco in May.

The new league standings sees Australia retain first place with 68 points, and New Zealand close to second place with 59 points. Great Britain knocked France out of the top three to rise to third on 54 points, while France dropped to fourth.

The nine members of the fleet will next meet for the Australian Grand Prix on the 18th and 19th of February.

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