The first F50s have hit the water to begin crucial training time ahead of this weekend’s Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix.
The United States, Switzerland, Germany, Emirates GBR and Spain have all been spotted practicing maneuvers on the Mina Zayed ahead of official practice racing Friday 12 January.
The Emirates GBR F50, now rebranded with the name of new driver Giles Scott, hosted the second all-female training session after a successful debut in Dubai.
The session, overseen by Emirates GBR coach Rob Wilson, saw female athletes including Emirates GBR’s Hannah Mills, ROCKWOOL DEN’s Katja Salskov-Iversen and France’s Manon Audinet rotating roles and banking crucial training time on board the F50.
Racing will get underway in earnest on Saturday 13 January, with the first three fleet races kicking off at 10:00 hrs UK time, before continuing on Sunday 14 January with two more fleet races and the all-important, three-boat Final.
Heading into Abu Dhabi, three-time champions Australia sit at the top of the leaderboard, despite not yet winning an event in Season 4.
They are followed by ROCKWOOL DEN and New Zealand in second and third respectively.
Both ROCKWOOL DEN and Emirates GBR will race with new drivers in Abu Dhabi, Nathan Outteridge stepping in for Nicolai Sehested, who is out on paternity leave, on board ROCKWOOL DEN.
And Giles Scott replacing Ben Ainslie on board the British F50, with a few days of practice in Dubai behind him, and another crucial training day in Abu Dhabi, Scott will take charge of the team and go head to head against the F50 fleet for the first time.
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