‘Time will tell’ SailGP commentators discuss new teams and ‘Can do betters’
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com/nz 5 Nov 01:47 PST
Switzerland leads France and Emirates Great Britain during a practice session ahead of the Spain Sail Grand Prix in Cadiz, Spain, on October 13, 2023. Photo: Bob Martin for SailGP. Handout image provided by SailGP © Bob Martin for SailGP
This is the third installment of a series where SailGP commentators Stevie Morrison and Lisa Damanin examine the strengths and weaknesses of the new and low-ranking teams as SailGP Season 5 approaches.
Particularly noteworthy are the new Brazilian SailGP team led by skipper Martine Grael and a strong crew, the yet-to-be-announced Italian team, and the three teams at the bottom of the standings: Switzerland, USA, and Germany. These three teams are all privately owned and have more flexibility to alter their lineups by introducing new crew members.
The commentators also consider the prospects for available helmsmen Nathan Outteridge and Phil Robertson if the bottom three teams fail to deliver results in Season 5, questioning if team owners and sponsors would permit this situation when they could hire more capable personnel.
Notably absent from the discussion is the anticipated involvement of Torben Grael, a five-time Olympic medalist and Volvo Ocean Race winner, and the father of Martine and Marco Grael.
They further speculate about the second catastrophic wing failure experienced by the Brazilian F50 during a training session in Bermuda on September 10, 2024. The first incident took place a year earlier involving the New Zealand SailGP team in Saint Tropez, following a race conclusion. No public disclosure has been made regarding the causes of either failure, whether it was due to crew error, design flaws, or technical issues.
At the conclusion of the session, both commentators share their predictions regarding team rankings.
