SailGP’s first ever visit to Los Angeles is underway, with the 10-strong F50 fleet going to battle across three fleet races on Saturday. From Spain’s improved performance to light winds forecast, we round up five things to watch out for when racing resumes at 16:00 PDT.
Can ROCKWOOL Denmark pick up its first event win?
ROCKWOOL Denmark had impressive performance on the first day of Los Angeles, picking up a consistent 3-1-5 race record. This means Nicolai Sehested’s team currently sits in third overall tied on points with Emirates GBR and is currently qualified for the three-boat, winner-takes-all Final. Could the Port of Los Angeles host ROCKWOOL Denmark’s first ever event win?
Will Spain’s improved performance continue?
Diego Botin’s young Spanish team also had an improved performance on day one of Los Angeles, picking up 6-3-2 finishes to end the day in fourth. Can Spain take advantage of the forecasted light wind conditions to sneak into the three-boat shootout and net its best event result yet?
Can the USA turn it around?
It was another tricky day on the water for Jimmy Spithill’s United States team, which had 7-4-8 results to end the day in 6th. The team has so far failed to perform on home waters - but is that trend set to continue? Or could Spithill’s crew harness home town support to progress up the leaderboard?
Will Hurricane Gulch show up?
Despite hosting a thermal acceleration zone known as Hurricane Gulch, Los Angeles’s wind grew shy towards the end of racing on day one. The F50 fleet even struggled to foil in the third fleet race as the breeze almost completely died off. Heading into day two, the forecast is light and a late call has been made to fit the F50s with the largest 29m wing. Will the wind show up to produce characteristic, adrenaline-fueled SailGP racing?
Los Angeles’s tight racecourse
It was an action-packed first day on the Port of Los Angeles, with the tight racecourse proving a unique challenge to teams. Close calls, near misses and congested mark roundings were plentiful, but luckily no collisions were reported. Can the teams keep it clean on the second day of racing? Time will tell.
Racing resumes at 16:00 PDT on Sunday, July 23. Full broadcast information and How To Watch details are HERE.
