Racing was been abandoned following a major collision between New Zealand’s Black Foils and DS Team France in race 3 of the opening day of the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix Auckland.
Two crew members, one from each team, were taken to hospital and are reported by SailGP in stable condition. All other crew members have been accounted for onboard.
Shortly after the start of race 3 New Zealand Black Foils, helmed by Pete Burling, sailing at 88.9 Km/h appeared to loose rudder control, spinning to windward and nosediving, then colliding with the DS Team France, helmed by Quentin Delapierre.
The French also nosedived as they reacted to the Kiwi boat but their port hull stuck the starboard hull of the Kiwi boat, both boats finishing locked together.
Both sustained major damage that will prevent them from taking part in Sunday’s action.
SailGP’s race committee made the decision to abandon races three and four in light of the efforts to salvage the two stricken F50s.
“On the incident itself, I can’t really say anything,” a visibly shaken DS Team France driver Quentin Delapierre told reporters after making it back to shore.
“Everything happened so quickly – it’s still super cloudy in my head and I haven’t reviewed the footage or spoken to the umpires.”
“I think both teams are OK. I want to give my thoughts to the New Zealand team and also to my teammates – this was tough for everyone on both teams. I believe we’ll find some solutions to make sure we never see this kind of thing happen again.”
The collision is the second in as many events for the Black Foils, who were forced to sit out the season opener in Perth last month after their F50 was badly damaged in a crash with the Switzerland SailGP Team.
The Black Foils – who topped the event leaderboard until the crash – were handed an eight-point penalty by the umpires.
The BONDS Flying Roos – winners in Auckland last season – got off to a flying start with a dominant performance in the opening race to come home ahead of the Black Foils and DS Team France. Emirates GBR finished 11th.
The Black Foils took the race 2 win ahead of Emirates GBR, with DS Team France taking third after a second in the first race. The BONDS Flying Roos were fourth.
Overall after two races the Kiwi and French boats led from the Aussies before the Race 3 incident brought an end to the first day racing.
Even stronger winds are forecast for Sunday, with racing brought forward from 4pm local time to 11.30am (10.30pm GMT UK on Saturday) to avoid the worst weather.
