The fastest Dane on land met the fastest Danes on water on Monday, as Danish racing driver Kevin Magnussen joined Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL to go foiling in Copenhagen for the first time.
Magnussen jumped onboard with Nicolai Sehested and his crew ahead of the ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix on 19-20 August – and even got to drive the F50 catamaran, capable of hitting speeds of 100 km/hr powered only by the wind.
And the Danish racer admitted that it was an incredible experience to go foiling on home waters.
“I have sailed a lot, but never anything like this. We were up to 75 kilometres per hour, and previously I have only been close to sailing a maximum of 30 kilometers per hour. It was absolutely crazy to feel how quickly the boat reacts when you get up to those speeds," says Magnussen.
He admits that there are several similarities between his day job and the experience on the F50 catamaran today, but especially the communication onboard impressed him.
"Of course, there is a lot of communication on the team in F1, but when something has to be reacted to quickly, it's just up to me in the car. On the boat here, there are several people who have to coordinate their reaction in a split second, and it was amazing to experience the cooperation and communication between them.”
The Denmark SailGP Team, led by Sehested, also features a host of Danish Olympic stars including medalists Anne-Marie Rindom, Katja Salskov-Iversen and Martin Kirketerp – and launched for the first time in Copenhagen on Monday, ahead of a busy week of training for the homecoming Sail Grand Prix.
Driver Nicolai Sehested adds: “It was a fantastic day to go for a rip around Copenhagen harbour, to kick off an exciting race week on home waters. We knew that Kevin is a solid sailor in his own right but he was really up for pushing the F50 and getting some speed. You can definitely see he has the golden touch on the wheel!”
Following a podium place at Great Britain Sail Grand Prix last month, the Danish team is looking for a top performance on home waters this weekend.
“Of course you feel added pressure racing in front of a home crowd, on home waters, but we have to use that pressure in a good way to keep us motivated and focused,” he explained.
“Having the F50s racing so close to shore at Nordhavn will be an amazing sight, and I’m sure that the Danish public will come out to give us a great welcome.”
The ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix | Copenhagen takes place on 19-20. August - both days from 15:30 to 17:00.
Limited tickets for the ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix are still available - fans can click HERE to grab the remaining few.
