ROCKWOOL Denmark SailGP Team lines up for the final Sail Grand Prix of 2023 this weekend, as the Emirates Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas comes to Dubai.
The Danes go into this event in second place in the overall championship, and have an opportunity to finish the year in strong fashion and increase the pressure on leaders Australia.
Just seven points splits the two teams as we reach the halfway point of Season 4, and Danish driver Nicolai Sehested is hoping that the ROCKWOOL team can continue their positive momentum in the Middle East.
“It’s of course a long season, but we are very happy with where we sit right now,” he adds. “The big test is whether we can keep this going through Dubai and into the next few events – and it’s all about making that final three at the end of the season.”
Australia will be without driver Tom Slingsby in Dubai as he is taking paternity leave, so the Flying Roos will have outgoing-United States driver Jimmy Spithill at the wheel to fill in. Sehested downplayed the impact that the change could have on the leaders’ performance.
“It isn’t a bad substitute, is it? Look, Jimmy has been racing in these boats for years – and consistently shows that he is up there with the best. He won his last event in Cádiz, and he will be looking to prove a point.
He adds: “It will be interesting to see if the Aussies change their style, but I don’t expect there to be a big performance drop.”
The Emirates Sail Grand Prix is the only global sporting event taking place during COP28 – the world’s biggest climate conference – which is also being hosted in Dubai.
It marks an intense week of activity for the SailGP athletes – including both Anne-Marie Rindom and Katja Salskov-Iversen hosting separate workshops in the COP28 green zone.
ROCKWOOL Denmark SailGP Team welcomed United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to the Ocean Peter Thomson to the SailGP site on Tuesday for a tour and an on-water experience. “It’s super inspiring to meet global leaders like Peter, who are in Dubai leading the conversation around protection of our planet,” said Sehested.
“We are really honoured that, in one of the busiest weeks of the year, Ambassador Thomson took the time to visit us and learn more about ROCKWOOL, SailGP and all of the purpose initiatives that we are focused on, such as the Impact League.”
He adds: “It’s great to hear positive feedback on the efforts we are making and to better understand how global sports like SailGP can inspire others around the world, and help us to reach our collective climate targets.”
SailGP fans can discover how and where to tune into the action by going to
sailgp.com/watch and selecting their market.
