Thousands of supporters turned out to fly the Danish flag in support of the home team – but had to be patient as adverse weather conditions put a halt to proceedings in the capital city.
After a postponement to the planned race start in the afternoon, the decision was made to abandon racing for the day, with a bumper programme planned for Race Day 2 on Saturday.
“I just want to say thank you for all the fans who came out to see us today, and kept us smiling despite the weather,” says Nicolai Sehested, driver on Denmark SailGP Team by ROCKWOOL.
“Unfortunately that’s how it is with sailing – and even at the top level, the only thing you can’t control is the weather. It happens in other sports as well, with rain and bad weather, and I’m just really sorry this happened. It’s disappointing, as we have been waiting for this day for a long time.”
He adds: “The only thing we can do is stay positive and grateful, and come out firing tomorrow, where it’s all up for grabs. I think the racing will be more important than ever, I think you’ll see teams taking more risks because the average game is off. You can expect a lot of tight racing tomorrow.”
Despite the delay, the Sehested and the rest of the SailGP fleet kept the fans entertained with some close fly-bys and activity on the water to show the F50s in full flight.
The action resumes on Saturday as eight national teams go head to head, racing closer to shore than in any other location on the SailGP calendar. Ben Ainslie’s Great Britain SailGP Team was forced to pull out of the racing after suffering damage in the practice race.
Earlier on Friday, Denmark SailGP Team was visited by Denmark’s Crown Prince couple – Their Royal Highnesses Frederik and Mary – at the SailGP team base. The royals were given a tour of the F50 and greeted the Danish team to wish them luck ahead of a home Sail Grand Prix.
Day two of racing starts at 3.30 p.m. local time and is live on TV2 in Denmark. Fans around the globe can check out how to watch where they are at SailGP.com/watch. A few final tickets are still available for Sunday but are selling fast, head to SailGP.com for more information.