SailGP fans can go behind the scenes of the Spain SailGP Team in Season 3 in the latest episode of the league’s docuseries Racing on the Edge.
With unprecedented access into the league, the fifth episode focuses on the young Spanish team and Jordi Xammar, who took over as driver ahead of Season 2’s San Francisco Grand Final in March 2022.
The episode shines the spotlight on the close match racing of San Francisco’s fleet racing, which resulted in a collision between the United States and Spain that proved devastating to Xammar’s confidence.
Four months later, at the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix, pressure was further heaped onto Xammar’s shoulders when SailGP boss Russell Coutts suggested flight controller Diego Botin should replace him as driver.
Regrouping after another challenging event in Copenhagen, Xammar pledges to take lead of the team: “On these boats there isn’t time for questions,” he says, “I’m going to take the lead and I will be the one taking the decisions because if you wait for others then it’s always too late - I’m not a newbie anymore.”
The episode culminates in the Spain Sail Grand Prix presented by NEAR and the zealous support of the 70,000 strong crowds lining the waterfront. While the Spanish performed well in early fleet races, their first real chance of making the Final slipped through their fingers in the fourth fleet race, but the passion and support of the Cádiz spectators remained.
Racing on the Edge features behind-the scenes-insight and up-close interviews with the Championship’s biggest personalities, including New Zealand’s Blair Tuke and Peter Burling, Australian driver Tom Slingsby and driver of Great Britain, Ben Ainslie.
Every episode of Racing on the Edge is available on SailGP's YouTube channel.
