United States driver Jimmy Spithill has admitted ‘the results do the talking’ following a disappointing season start in Chicago.
Speaking at a pre-event press conference ahead of racing in Los Angeles, Spithill said ‘the great thing about SailGP - and sport in general - is that it’s brutally honest - your results do the talking’.
It comes after the American team began the new season with a disappointing ninth place finish on home waters in Chicago. Looking back, Spithill attributed this performance to ‘mistakes on the water, technical issues, even just a tough call from an umpire’.
“That can really make a huge difference as to whether you finish at the top of the ladder or the bottom.”
But, Chicago’s result follows a slew of disappointing performances, piling pressure on the team, and Spithill specifically, to find answers fast.
Heading into Los Angeles, which marks the second of four US events in Season 4, Spithill said the team will be ‘focusing on consistency, clean races, trying to avoiding boat handling mistakes and just enjoying the day’.
He disagreed that the team’s difficulties are down to the team’s young crew. “If you look across the fleet, there’s a real blend of awesome young talent coming through and experience throughout the mix as well.”
He added that ‘no team is immune’ in the high-speed, one-design racing action of SailGP.
“The Aussie team has dominated the whole series since inception, but if they’ve had an event where they’ve had a technical issue or made some mistakes, even they’ve finished at the bottom of the table.”
Looking ahead to the weekend, Spithill said the Port of Los Angeles is an ‘incredible venue’. “It’s going to be fantastic - the fans are in for a real show,” he said.
The Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix will take place on July 22 & 23, with racing scheduled between 4pm-5.30pm PDT. Full broadcast information and How To Watch details are HERE.
