Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team has finished in sixth place at the Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix.
It was a tough second day for Emirates GBR, with them finishing the two fleet races in ninth and eighth place. The team missed out on a place in the final, with the three spots being filled by Australia, ROCKWOOL Denmark and Spain. Diego Botin’s Spanish crew were first to cross the finish line, giving the team their first ever SailGP win.
Driver and CEO Sir Ben Ainslie said it was a “frustrating” result for Emirates GBR, especially after the team dominated the third race on Day 1 with a 400m+ lead. “It was a really disappointing day on the back of a great day yesterday,” he said.
“We had a bit of a tricky start in the first race with the German team so we needed a good start in the second but we just couldn’t find a gap and being at the back of the fleet in these lighter airs is just so difficult.
“It wasn’t the day we were looking for but huge credit to the Spanish team, it’s an amazing result for them and good to see some youngsters coming through and taking the win.”
It was lighter conditions than expected in Los Angeles, with the city’s thermal acceleration zone known as Hurricane Gulch failing to turn up.
This led to a late call to fit the 10 F50s with the larger 29m wing, but Ainslie said the decision was “the right call”.
“It was a really difficult forecast and you have to take your hat off to the management team,” he said. “At the beginning it looked like it was slightly over-range for the 29m wing, but certainly as the day progressed and the wind backed up it all worked out.”
Ainslie said Emirates GBR would be focusing on coming back stronger for St Tropez in September. “It’s tough but that’s the nature of the competition and it shows the standard of the fleet,” he said. “We will go away, lick our wounds and try and figure out what we can do better and come back at the next event.”
