France fourth in the SailGP in San Francisco

France failed Sunday at the gates of the grand final of the SailGP circuit in San Francisco, finishing at the foot of the podium behind Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia, which won the championship for the third consecutive year.

It didn’t take long. After three races missed on Saturdaythe French team, led by helmsman Quentin Delapierre, had almost mortgaged its chances of finishing in the first three places in the standings, synonymous with qualifying for the final of this third season.

But a victory in the first of the final two rounds briefly gave the French camp hope, moving up the standings a few lengths behind the British of Sir Ben Ainslie, the most decorated sailor in history.

“We were really good and there were opportunities, but we lacked execution on two maneuvers which meant that the pack started again”

On the body of water in San Francisco Bay, between the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island, the Blues were able to take advantage of a more regular wind than the day before, notably by making two quality starts.

Long stuck in the middle of the fleet, however, they failed to break away in the second race before finishing 6th, between Great Britain and New Zealand. “We were really good and there were opportunities, but we lacked execution on two maneuvers which meant that the pack started again”regretted Delapierre afterwards.

At the end of the championship, France therefore ranked 4th (75 points), just behind Great Britain (77 points), New Zealand (78 points) and Australia (94 points) which was already guaranteed to take part in the final even before the start of this 11th and final stage.

“The overall balance remains positive, we were far behind last season (8th out of 8 teams) and we played the final to the end. But as a competitor, finishing fourth, I’m not happy. It has to mark us so that we work even more”estimated the French helmsman.

Australia still sacred

During the final regatta, which took place immediately after, the Australians again showed exemplary control, leading the race until the last bend, where a failed maneuver allowed the New Zealanders to closer to 90 meters only.

But Tom Slingsby, Olympic Laser champion in London, quickly remobilized his crew to cross the line six seconds ahead of the Kiwis. This victory marks Australia’s third title in three SailGP seasons, a real domination.

“I’m so proud, it was a completely crazy race and a completely crazy year […] I think Australia has the best sailors in the world and it’s nice to have the results to prove it.”he enthused at a press conference.

SailGP, created in 2018 and funded by billionaire and Oracle founder Larry Ellison, featured a $1 million bonus for the winner of the Grand Finals. On this tough circuit with around ten stages, the best sailors in the world compete aboard an F50 catamaran that can sail through the water at almost 100 km/h. The start of the 4th season of SailGP will take place on June 16 in Chicago (United States).