Canada driver Phil Robertson has labelled Spain ‘the most reckless team on the racecourse’ after the two teams came to blows for the second event running in Cádiz.
The incident took place in the second fleet race when Canada turned towards the right mark at the last moment, catching Spain off guard.
Trapped by the Canadian F50 on one side and the race mark on the other, the Spanish scraped against the mark as they tried to avoid a collision, resulting in damage to their F50.
For this, the were docked 4 event points and 2 points from their overall season score, but Robertson said the penalty didn’t go far enough.
Speaking after racing, he said Diego Botin’s team ‘should have been docked a lot more’, adding ‘they’re probably the most reckless team on the racecourse’.
Looking back on Saint-Tropez, which saw Canada handed an 8-point event penalty and 4-point deduction from its season score for colliding with Spain, Robertson said Botin’s team should also have received a penalty.
“They should have been taken some points off there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they get more later on in the season,” he said.
Reflecting on Cádiz, Robertson said Canada’s 5th place finish was ‘a keeper’.
“Five out of 10 is not the worst thing in the world for your season ranking - we’ve just got to keep plugging away,” he said. “We didn’t have a howler, we didn’t have a bad event and it’s good to end the European season like that.”
Looking ahead to Dubai, Robertson said he and the team were looking forward to a break in racing after a ‘pretty tough summer’.
“Everyone has been extremely busy and three events on the trot is difficult - it’s hard on the bodies,” he said.
The 10-strong F50 fleet will next meet at the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix Presented by P&O Marinas on December 9-10.
