SailGP’s France have ‘crumbled’ before, say Aussies
Australia are unfazed as France threaten to charge into the SailGP final, with their strategist Tash Bryant saying Quentin Delapierre’s boat has “crumbled under pressure” in similar circumstances before.
Their prediction comes as Australia revealed how technical issues worked against them finishing the first day of the season’s final regatta in fifth place on the event leaderboard.
The French performed best on San Francisco Bay on Saturday (Sunday AEDT), mastering the heavy conditions across the event’s first three fleet races.
If they keep their form up across the last two, the French will leapfrog Spain into the $3 million winner-take-all final on Sunday (Monday AEST), provided the Spanish continue to struggle.
Tom Slingsby’s Australia are on the cusp of confirming their own spot in the final alongside New Zealand, and remain calm after a mixed day typical of their hot-and-cold season.
While France’s strong starts were the envy of the chasing pack, three-time reigning champions Australia are undaunted by the prospect of facing the in-form boat in the decider as the French had also been on track to make their first grand final last season before finding themselves ousted by Great Britain on San Francisco Bay.
“They definitely sailed really well yesterday and we know heavy winds are their strength,” Bryant told AAP.
“But they haven’t done a final before. I know the Kiwis did one last year so they’re the only ones that have some experience in that sense.
“We’ve seen the French crumble under pressure last year in the lead-up to the final.”
Australia’s victory in the second race was bookended by disappointing fifth and eighth-placed finishes on Saturday.
While a tactical error thwarted the third race, Australia experienced mechanical issues in the first similar to those reported in the Bermuda regatta earlier this season.
“We had a slight malfunction with a board drop, but we’re just going to have to learn to deal with those,” Bryant said.
The crew’s headsets were also playing up, making it difficult to communicate with one another on the water – an issue experienced during the final practice session on Friday.
“We didn’t have much time before racing (on day one) and there were major communications, commset issues, which was really frustrating,” Bryant said.
“We lost 40 minutes dealing with that.”
But eyeing a probable grand final berth, Australia like their chances when the fleet is reduced to three boats in the decider.
“You really just need to sail your own race and that’s really good for us because we know when we’re clear no one can catch us,” Bryant said.
“Taking that confidence in will be really good.”
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