Former Spain flight controller Diego Botin has spoken about taking over as driver of the Spanish team ahead of his debut event in Sydney, describing it as a ‘huge personal opportunity’.
Speaking at a pre-event press conference, Botin reflected on the ‘big changes’ to the team. Former driver Jordi Xammar left the team alongside former CEO Maria del Mar de Ros, leaving Botin and wing trimmer Florian Trittel to take joint responsibility for the management of the team in her stead.
Reflecting on the disruption to the team, Botin said: “We just have to be super professional and to put in the work to be competitive in Season 4”.
Botin took to the water as driver for the first time on Thursday for crucial training time on Sydney Harbour - an experience he described as ‘challenging’.
“It’s never easy the first day you jump on these boats but the learning curve throughout the day was super good and the team was pushing the right buttons all the time,” he said.
His main aim for the final three sail grand prix events of the season is to ‘perform safely and be able to perform and fight hard next season’.
“Obviously we feel pressured as athletes and this is very new for me - so we are focusing on putting our best foot forward now,” he said.
Racing takes place in Sydney between 16:00-17:30 AEDT on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets to the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney are available HERE. Full broadcast information and How To Watch details are HERE.
