With less than 24 hours to go before the ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix takes place in Aarhus, Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL driver Nicolai Sehested has explained that seeing the eight F50 catamarans line up on home waters is a ‘dream come true’.

The race weekend – which will see the best sailors on the planet race some of the coolest boats in the sport on 20-21 August – will take place in Aarhus Bay, and is the first time that SailGP has ever visited Denmark.

And the venue has already proven to be a perfect host for the global racing league, with Ben Ainslie’s Great Britain SailGP Team smashing the F50 speed record with a new top speed of 98.3 km/hr in training this week.

“It’s a dream to race in front of our home fans, on Danish waters, and we can’t wait to get going,” said Sehested.

“Aarhus is a fantastic spot for world-class racing and there will be some epic racing this weekend… I think the new speed record shows the potential that this venue has for some dramatic and exciting action on the water.”

The Danish team, which joined SailGP in late 2019, has now completed four Grand Prix, and recent performances suggest that it is gradually closing the gap on the more experienced teams in the league.

“We’re really happy with our progress of late, and every Grand Prix has seen us do better than the one before,” he added. “Do we feel pressure racing on home waters? Well, of course we want to put in a good performance in front of our own fans, and for ROCKWOOL, to repay the support they have given us so far.”

He said: “We know that there will be a lot of people turning out to support us, and we’re going to put on a show for them.”

The ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix is SailGP’s first event to be 100 percent powered by nature across all onshore operations, a significant landmark in the league’s global calendar.

“As Danes, we’re proud of our reputation for doing things in a sustainable and innovative way, it’s in our DNA. Hopefully this is a legacy that SailGP can take around the world and pass on to other places. Denmark is a small country and we understand that the best impact is made when you work together with others, that’s our ethos, and we are working closely with ROCKWOOL to drive everything we do as a team,” added Sehested.

The Danish boat welcomes back Anne-Marie Rindom following her gold medal victory in Tokyo, and Sehested explained that the laser radial sailor is ‘a secret weapon’ for the team.

“Anne-Marie has been sailing in Aarhus Bay day in, day out for half a decade, so she is probably the most experienced person in SailGP when it comes to this venue. She is giving us valuable insight and expertise to make us faster and smarter on the water.”

The ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix will be broadcast on TV2 at 1400 on Friday 20 August and 12.15 on Saturday 21 August. Fans outside of Denmark can find the broadcast details in their market at www.sailgp.com/watch