Germany were praised as the ‘boat of the day’ on their SailGP debut at the Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix – despite finishing the opening day in Chicago down in 8th place.
The Germans – SailGP’s newest team – picked up two 8th place finishes and one 7th during Friday’s action to end Race Day 1 on 10 points, ahead of both the United States and Switzerland in the rankings.
But their lower points total does a disservice to Germany’s performance on Lake Michigan, as Erik Heil’s team spent a fair amount of time challenging in the midfield, only to drop back in the fleet in the latter stages of races to finish behind their rivals.
Nonetheless, the day will likely be considered a huge success by Heil and his crew – especially given their limited time training onboard the F50 following the cancellation of Thursday’s practice session due to risky weather conditions.
And SailGP commentator Stevie Morrison also believes Germany enjoyed a positive day on the water – going so far as to title them his ‘boat of the day’ during the broadcast.
"They're not at the top of the fleet,” began Stevie, “but it's hard not to put this German team as boat of the day for me.
"They've just done fantastic job here in the United States, right in front of these fans. It's the first time in this real stadium racing for Erik and his crew, and they've really delivered.
"A good, good performance on a day when I thought they could have easily got back inside their shell - been nervous of their whole situation and nervous of the boat."
Germany will be hoping to continue their steady start to SailGP life on Saturday, when the ten-team fleet returns to Lake Michigan for the second day of the Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier.
Racing resumes at 4pm CDT on Saturday, June 17. Please CLICK HERE for a full live stream of the Race Day 2 action, or visit our How to Watch page for broadcast information for your region.
