ROCKWOOL Denmark SailGP Team narrowly missed out on the podium spots at the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix this weekend, securing a fifth place as Spain SailGP Team took the victory to extend its points-gap over the Danes in the overall season rankings.
Denmark – who scored back-to-back podiums on Race Day 1 – went into Sunday knowing that two strong races would see them into the event final, to secure key points in the fight for third.
But a fourth placed finish in Race 4 was followed by a disappointing eighth place in the final fleet race – which put paid to ROCKWOOL’s hopes of making the top three in Bermuda.
“We tried to keep it simple in the last race, and sail all the way to the layline – which is what you’d normally do behind the front – but the teams that were forced to gybe right got more pressure, and slowly rolled us. I think we went from second to last in one leg, which hurts,” says Nicolai Sehested.
The final race was shortened in order to keep the racing within the broadcast window, and Sehested admits that losing the final lap really cost his team.
“When we got to the bottom mark, I thought “ah, we could really use another lap right now…”. We were pretty deep. But we know the rules and it’s important to stick to the broadcast window. It’s just part of racing.”
That result leaves ROCKWOOL Denmark in fourth place in the SailGP Season 4 rankings (56 points), but with a nine-point deficit on third-placed Spain (65 points), with three Sail Grand Prix remaining.
New Zealand SailGP Team lead the pack (77 points), with Australia SailGP Team (67 points) in second place.
“Obviously Spain is the team we’re chasing,” adds Sehested. “We’re fully focused on that, and we need to take points on them in Halifax and New York, to then we have a match race in San Francisco. We’re not afraid of a bit of match racing, so it’s still all to play for.”
The Bermuda Sail Grand Prix final was battled out by Spain SailGP Team, Australia SailGP Team and New Zealand SailGP Team – and the Spanish team led from the off, turning a solid start into consistent speed around the race course to pick up its second event win of the season.
Next up, the SailGP fleet heads to Canada for the first time ever – to race in the ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix on 1-2 June. It is the first of three remaining events in Season 4, with New York (22-23 June) and San Francisco (13-14 July) to follow.
