SailGP: ROCKWOOL Denmark wins practice racing as USA F50 dramatically capsizes

The full F50 fleet hit the water on Friday to undertake practice racing – going head to head across three fleet races before official racing on 9 & 10 September.

Shifty conditions and a steadily building breeze challenged crews due to the F50s’ 29m wing and light air foil configuration. But it was ROCKWOOL Denmark that sailed consistently across all three races to finish with a 1-1-4 race record at the top of the leaderboard.

Phil Robertson’s Canada and Peter Burling’s New Zealand rounded out the top three, while Germany ended the day with a second place finish in the third and final fleet race.

Elsewhere, it was a solid day for Sebastien Schneiter’s Switzerland, which seemed to benefit from regaining former Japan driver Nathan Outteridge in the strategist role and the addition of former France flight controller Francois Morvan.

Despite a tricky start to the day for home favourites France, Quentin Delapierre’s team rebounded to claim a 10-5-3 race record and finish in fourth overall. LA champions Spain also struggled, placing 6-9-7 to finish the day in ninth overall.

Elsewhere, Season 3 champions Australia and Season 3 Grand Finalist Emirates Great Britain both had lukewarm performances, with Australia finishing in seventh overall and Emirates GBR in eighth.

Both teams will be looking to move up the leaderboard and claim a better set of fleet racing results when official racing gets underway at 13.30 CEST on Saturday. Full broadcast and how to watch information can be found HERE.

Text and images courtesy of SailGP.com.