Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL took sixth place overall at the Spain Sail Grand Prix in Cádiz, as big breeze caused carnage on the course – including a pair of capsizes in the fleet.
In gusts approaching 25 knots, Australia SailGP Team took the overall victory in Andalucía, after hosts Spain SailGP Team had to withdraw from racing following serious damage to the wingsail, sustained during a capsize in the pre-race sailing period.
Later, Great Britain SailGP Team dramatically capsized in the final race, to open the door for the Aussies to snatch the win.
The ROCKWOOL team, led by Nicolai Sehested, began the day sitting in third spot overall and held hopes of achieving a first ever SailGP event podium – but a pair of disappointing results in the final two races of the weekend saw them slip out of contention for the top three.
“It was a windy and wild day. Really gusty. We’ve not really experienced those conditions since Bermuda,” said Sehested.
“It wasn’t our best day. I’m not making excuses – we have a lot to learn in how to handle this big breeze and we’re still a long way from the top boats in conditions like this. We need more hours in this kind of weather, we didn’t deserve a podium today.”
The Spain Sail Grand Prix made history with the addition of female athletes onboard every F50 during racing, for the first time ever.
Danish Olympic bronze medalist Katja Salskov-Iversen, who, alongside Anne-Marie Rindom, joined the team prior to the season opener in Bermuda, raced onboard in Spain.
The Australian team’s victory sees it return to the top of the overall Season 2 rankings, just in time for a homecoming trip Down Under to Sydney for the next SailGP event in the calendar – the Australia Sail Grand Prix in December.
