France has shattered the SailGP speed record after hitting 107.63 km/h during a high-octane opening day of the ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix in Sassnitz on Saturday.
DS Automobiles Team France eclipsed the previous championship record of 103.93 km/h, set by Denmark's ROCKWOOL Racing at the same Baltic venue last year.
The landmark run came during the sixth and final race of a dramatic opening programme featuring six races, five different winners and several teams exceeding the previous speed record.
Delapierre Takes France Beyond 107 km/h
France driver Quentin Delapierre said the record-breaking run came during a particularly demanding bear-away.
“I was definitely on the edge and it was quite scary on that last bear-away,” Delapierre said.
“I guess that’s where we broke the record. It was quite a slow bear-away, so we were going really fast. I was just focusing on not putting too much pressure on Jason’s foil so he could stay on the foil. At this speed, the first boundary comes up very quickly.”
Denmark also exceeded its former record, reaching 106.79 km/h, before suffering a high-speed nosedive. Spain's Los Gallos recorded 106.55 km/h.
With strong Baltic winds driving the F50s, teams raced with the smallest 18-metre wingsails and high-speed rudders and boards.
Australia and New Zealand Lead Their Groups
Australia's Bonds Flying Roos dominated the early Group B racing, winning the opening two races.
Tom Slingsby's crew led at the first mark of the opening race and resisted a challenge from Canada before taking victory. They controlled the start again in their second encounter and stretched away to win by 24 seconds, ahead of Emirates GBR.
“It felt super easy in the first two races,” Slingsby said. “You get a good start, you’re out in front and you’re just sailing around by yourself.”
Their final race proved more difficult, but Australia ended Saturday leading Group B with 10 points.
New Zealand's Black Foils head Group A on 12 points after Peter Burling's crew won their opening race and followed France home in their second.
“It was definitely super shifty, with the little rain squalls coming through,” Burling said. “I think the group did an amazing job starting the day strong, chipping away and getting some good results on the board.”
Home Victory for Germany
Germany gave the sold-out Sassnitz crowd a home victory in the fifth race.
Erik Kosegarten-Heil's crew took the lead and held on for the win ahead of Canada, while Artemis surged from sixth to third at the final mark to complete a third podium finish from three races.
“It was fantastic to win one race in front of the home crowd,” Kosegarten-Heil said.
“We had a good start and we didn’t have the other races before that. Now we are back in the game. It will be a tough second day of racing for us, but everything is still in it.”
France then produced the day's headline speed in the final race, although it was Spain who ultimately took the race victory.
ROCKWOOL Racing's spectacular nosedive dropped Denmark from second to seventh, while Spain recovered from a boundary penalty to overhaul France and keep its Grand Final hopes alive.
Racing resumes on Sunday, 23 August, with the remaining qualifying fleet races followed by the winner-takes-all Grand Final.
