Emirates GBR driver Ben Ainslie has unpacked how the British team won the third fleet race of Los Angeles with a lead of over 400m.
The British F50 crossed the line with an incredible 1.24 minute lead ahead of Spain in second place - but the moment of the team’s race success unfolded on the reach to Mark 1.
Ainslie said it was finding ‘a real trade off’ between utilizing pressure and gaining separation from the fleet, which struggled off the start line amid dying wind conditions. Emirates GBR meanwhile executed a solid start to gain clear air.
“We had room from there to to press to the exact angle we wanted to get up on the foils,” strategist Hannah Mills explained.
Despite accelerating away from the fleet to gain an eventual lead of over 400m, Ainslie said the team remained on high alert throughout.
“In SailGP, anything can happen,” he said. “We had a massive lead, but we were very conscious that it could go in an instant if we got ourselves stuck in a hole of wind”.
He complimented the tactical nous of strategist Mills, who kept the British F50 ‘in the breeze’. “It was a good team effort today and on a tight racecourse like that, it needed to be,” Ainslie said.
Reflecting on the day’s three fleet races, Ainslie said ‘it felt like a battle out there’ due to the Port of Los Angeles’s tight racecourse. “Overall it was a good day and fantastic racing on a really tight racecourse - LA has put on a show.”
Australia currently sits at the top of the leaderboard heading into day two, while Emirates GBR sits in second and ROCKWOOL DEN is in third.
Racing resumes at 16:00 PDT on Sunday, July 23. Full broadcast information and How To Watch details are HERE.
