SailGP teams are bracing for a wild weekend with a powerful south-westerly forecast set to shape racing at the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Auckland.
Winds of up to 50 km/h are set to sweep through the Hauraki Gulf – and the effects of the weather system were already being felt across the 13-strong F50 fleet as official practice racing was cancelled on Friday.
Due to the forecast, SailGP has adjusted the weekend race schedule following consultation with local authorities and event stakeholders, with athlete safety and competitive integrity as priorities.
Timings for Day 1, Saturday 14 February remain unchanged, with racing scheduled from 4pm to 5.30pm NZT local time – 3am to 4.30am GMT in the UK.
Racing for Day 2, Sunday 15 February will now begin at 11:30am NZT local time – 10.30pm GMT Saturday 14 February – brought forward from the originally scheduled start time.
If these rescheduled timings for Sunday (NZL) are maintained, this will mean all racing will take place on the Saturday 14 Feb for UK/European viewers. Sailweb will be reporting on the events.
While the Friday practice racing was cancelled due to a forecast of lightning, which did not actually arrive, three teams were allowed to ‘commission’ recent repairs to their boats.
The Kiwis Black Foils went out to test their major port stern section repair and control setup following their collision with the Swiss in Perth.
Spain’s Los Gallos also went out to test their new foil case, and the German Deutsche Bank team were testing a structural remedial repair.
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