Australia driver Tom Slingsby has already set his sights on next month’s KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix as the team continues to chase its first elusive win of Season 4.
There’s just a month to go until SailGP returns to the iconic waters of Sydney Harbour for the 8th event of Season 4, with the 10 strong fleet battling it out across five fleet races and the three-boat Final on February 24-25.
Slingsby reflected on the recent light wind events of Dubai and Abu Dhabi and said he was ‘excited’ to return to the typically windier conditions of Sydney.
“Sydney usually provides the best conditions of the season,” he said. “We’re a bit more comfortable in those windier conditions than some of those new teams.”
Speaking after racing in Abu Dhabi, Slingsby said light wind conditions ‘take their toll on you’.“They’re pretty frustrating - you want to sail in conditions that these boats are designed to sail in, so we’re looking forward to that.”
He added that the team, which has failed to win an event yet this season despite dominating previous seasons, would be exploiting its ‘local knowledge advantage’ when racing gets underway.
“We know those waters really well, we know how the tides work, we know the winds and where the shifts might happen.”
Strategist Nina Curtis added that ‘having that home crowd behind us could really make the difference’ as Australia pursues its first win of the season.
It comes after Slingsby missed the Dubai event on paternity leave, with former USA driver Jimmy Spithill stepping in and delivering a 2nd place finish. Australia has so far appeared in 6 of Season 4’s 7 Finals, but failed the take the win each time.
This month’s visit to Abu Dhabi marked the Aussies’ worst performance of the season, with the team coming 7th overall. Despite this, the three-time champions remain at the top of the Season 4 leaderboard thanks to consistent results, with a 6 point lead over New Zealand in second.
SailGP has previously visited Sydney four times, with Australia winning in Season 1 & 2, France taking the victory at a shortened event in Season 3, and Emirates GBR winning a one-off event in 2020.
The KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney takes place on February 24-25.
