ROCKWOOL Denmark driver Nicolai Sehested has debriefed LA’s ‘frustrating’ Final, which saw Spain claim its first event Final and the Danish finish in second place.
Reflecting on the start, Sehested said the team had a good position to secure the pin end of the line but then ‘the breeze just got lighter’ and ‘we never got going again’.
Despite crossing the start line ahead of Tom Slingsby’s Australia, the Danish slipped behind the Aussies into third position before clawing back second place on the penultimate leg of the race.
However, Sehested the team spent too much time ‘infighting with Australia’, leaving ‘Spain to slip away’. Despite this, the Danish came close to catching Spain in the final 200m of the race.
But match racing tactics by Spain’s Diego Botin saw the Spanish F50 cover the Danish in the maneuvers and narrowly extend their lead in the all-important sprint to the finish.
While congratulating the Spanish team, Sehested said the Danish team would be ‘looking at the risks and how we play the Finals’. The team has now had four Final appearances (three in Season 3 and one in Season 4), but failed to win any.
“We’ve had a few finals now, but we just need to work out how to win them - we’re definitely up there but we’ve got to figure out the last step.”
The F50 fleet will meet again at the third event of Season 4 - the France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez on September 9-10.
