The San Francisco showdown got underway today, with three fleet races at the Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final. This racecourse is one of the most iconic in the global league, with the Golden Gate Bridge one side, Alcatraz Island the other.
The Swiss performed well in the tough and shifty conditions, pushing hard and racing fast, and delivered two back-to-back storming starts. The team placed 3,5,9 across the scoreboard and sit in sixth place heading into the second and final race day.
Despite sending it at the start of race one and dominating from there on, Emirates Great Britain clinched second-place towards the end, leaving the team finishing closely behind in third. Another solid start in race two followed, but a penalty from Australia later in the race was costly. In the third and final race of the day it was tough to get off the line, making it even harder to make gains.
Season 3's Grand Final continues tomorrow (Sunday) from 11:30pm – 1:00am (CEST) / 2.30- 4:00pm (PDT). All the action will be streamed live in Switzerland on YouTube and Blue Sport, with replays shown throughout the day.
Switzerland SailGP Team driver Sébastien Schneiter said: “There were lots of positives from today, the first two starts were great and we were in the mix. We were still getting a little bit eaten by the top boats, but we stayed in the fight so that was good.
"Our last start didn’t go so well so there’s still a lot of learnings and it’s a bit disappointing to end the day like that, but it was a good day overall.
"Tonight we will dive into the data. We know that our gybes were not so great, so will look into that and will keep looking at the starts as it’s such a key part of the race. We know that when you start ahead the race becomes a whole lot easier.”
Switzerland SailGP Team Wing trimmer Glenn Ashby has been enjoying more time in the role. He said: “It was really nice conditions out there today. Seba and the guys did a great job in the first couple of races, we were battling it right up at the front of the fleet and hit some really good speed at times. We didn’t quite get off the line as well in the third race, but we had some fantastic moments out there today, so the team should be really proud of their performance.”
