The stunning win by Ben Ainslie and the Great Britain SailGPteam at the opening round of the SailGP 2020 Series has reset the competition playbook.
By winning the first four races with such a dominent display, Ainslie raised the competition to a new level, introducing a much needed keen competitive edge for the second season.
Tom Slingsby and his Australian team, overall winners in 2019, seemed to be completely knocked back by the speed that the British team were able to wring out of their one-design F50 after just a few days on-water practice.
The nervous looking Slingsby completely blew the start of the match race final, leaving Ainslie to sail safely round the course for a crushing overall victory.
There is now a two month gap until they meet again for round 2 in San Francisco – 2 and 3 May.
For Ainslie and his team that means returning to Cagliari, Sardinia, for more time on their AC75 and facing the first round of the America’s Cup World Series – 18 to 22 April.
Great Britain SailGP Team Presented by INEOS in Season 2:
Ben Ainslie | Helmsman | GBR | 42
Luke Parkinson | Flight Controller | GBR/AUS | 28
Iain Jensen | Wing Trimmer | AUS | 31
Matt Gotrel | Grinder | GBR | 30
Neil Hunter | Grinder | GBR | 24
Richard Mason | Grinder | GBR | 31
The team will compete in front of a home crowd in Cowes, Isle of Wight, 14-15 August, following events in Sydney, San Francisco and New York.
Related Post:
Sydney SailGP victory for Ainslie and Great Britain SailGP
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