The stage is set for some tight racing this weekend at the Mubadala United States Sail Grand Prix in San Francisco this weekend. Friday’s practice racing saw Sir Ben Ainslie and the Great Britain SailGP Team heading to racing on Saturday in form. Great Britain showed excellent pace in all three races, as well as being commanding at each start.
New Zealand and France showed impressive speed at times as well, managing a patchy race course to move through the fleet after starting well behind the gun. It was all Great Britain in practice race one, and they were in a commanding position in race two, before it was abandoned when a whale entered the course.
Japan didn’t make it out to the course for the first two practice races of the day, having returned to base after an issue with the control system on their wing. The Australian team missed all three races as repairs continued to their wing to damage sustained when they capsized in training on Thursday. The Roo was seen in the water early on Saturday though.
Spain had a consistent day towards the back of the fleet as new driver Jordi Xammar stepped in. Towards the end of the day all seven boats on the course were dicing with each other at various points, showing again there are not easy races in SailGP.
Saturday will see three races, with two more on Sunday to decide the winner of the United States Sail Grand Prix. The season final will take place following Sundays races, between the top three ranked teams at the end of the Grand Prix season. For details on how to watch wherever you are, click the button below.
