SailGP: ROCKWOOL Racing leads fleet after huge podium points-haul in Abu Dhabi

The Danish-flagged boat scored a clean sweep of podiums in light winds in the UAE – taking a third, two firsts and a second place to extend a 15-point gap on second place with just two fleet races remaining on Sunday.

Leaving just three points on the table, Saturday marks one of the most dominant point returns for a single team in SailGP history – means that ROCKWOOL Racing sits on the verge of winning its first ever SailGP event since joining the global racing championship in Season 2.

“Our philosophy today was high-risk in the starts, and it paid off in the first three races where we sailed away from the fleet. It didn’t work so well in the last race so we had to claw our way back up the fleet and the team did a really good job of sailing the boat clean,” said Nicolai Sehested, driver of ROCKWOOL Racing SailGP Team.

“It was tricky for everyone out there – it’s the first time we’ve felt really fast in this light stuff, and it’s good to see we seem to be improving in these conditions. But we saw in Cadiz last month, that it’s only day one, and we need to keep our head down, do our homework and make sure we don’t throw this lead away.”

Light winds saw the teams race with just three athletes onboard the boats, and the largest, 27.5-metre wingsails on show.

The Danish team unveiled a new look roster for the event, with Ed Powys stepping onto the flight control after the departure of Rasmus Køstner to Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team, and Hans-Christian Rosendahl returning to the squad after a long-term injury, in place of Julius Hallstrom.

“I’m really happy with how the new group is working. You can tell that Ed has been a part of the team for a long time and we had a really good level of communication onboard.”

Sunday will see two more fleet races, before an event winner is named – and then a Grand Final where the season champion will be crowned. ROCKWOOL Racing requires six points from the two races to secure the event win.

Fans can tune in to watch the action live from 10.00 CET by heading to sailgp.com/watch.

Text and images courtesy of SailGP.com. Read more here.