ROCKWOOL Denmark SailGP Team secured its best ever season finish in SailGP on Sunday, taking fourth place in the Season 4 championship as Spain SailGP Team scooped a surprise victory.
The Danes – led by driver Nicolai Sehested – grabbed a second place in the San Francisco event, but it wasn’t enough to qualify them for the all-important Grand Final match race, which saw Australia, New Zealand and Spain compete for the $2-million-dollar prize purse.
Despite that, Sehested was upbeat after a series of impressive performances saw his team consistently in the tops spots in California.
“We knew we had to come here and put in a solid event, in order to keep our hopes of making the final alive – but also to set the standard for next season,” explains Sehested.
“I think we would have led this event, if it wasn’t for the mix up with Canada on Saturday which cost us some vital points. So we have to take the positives, and we looked fast and made some good decisions this weekend.”
Podiums make points
ROCKWOOL Denmark scored three podiums from five fleet races – taking a 2, 8, 1, 4, 2 – to secure its place at the top of the standings in San Francisco.
But it wasn’t an event without drama, as the Danish boat found itself on the receiving end of not one, but two, incidents – the first as Canada SailGP Team hit the mark in Race 2, and the second on Sunday as France SailGP Team collided with the Danes, putting itself out of action, and killing its chances of making the final race.
Both Canada and France received maximum penalty points – Canada 8 event points and 4 season points, and France 12 event and 8 season points – for the incidents, with the second leaving Denmark with some light damage on its boat.
“It happened pretty quickly, and I think they just didn’t see us,” says Sehested, on the France collision. “It’s unfortunate, and it’s not the way we would want to see France end its season, and lose its spot in the final. Luckily no one was hurt.”
Looking ahead to Season 5
With the most iconic and expansive SailGP calendar yet announced for the 2024/2025 season, beginning in Dubai in November 2024, there is plenty to get excited about.
“We’re really looking forward to Season 5 – and we feel we are in a great position to push into the podium spots and start to take some wins,” admits Sehested.
“I want to say congratulations to Spain, who sailed a great final and showed that it’s never over, until it’s over. Yesterday they were out of the final, and today they’ve taken the trophy. That just shows how close the level is in SailGP and it opens the doors for other teams to believe that we can do the same.”