Great Britain hunt down glory at SailGP race in Southsea as Tom Grennan and Pete Tong perform
Hometown glory is on the cards for Dylan Fletcher’s Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team as they led the fleet after a picture perfect opening day of the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Southsea.
Switzerland, BONDS Flying Roos and New Zealand were hot on his heels for crucial leaderboard points heading into Championship Sunday.
As the starting horn sounded on the waters of the Solent on Saturday, the fleet hit the start-line of a tricky, obstacle-stacked racecourse. It was Emirates Great Britain out in front – and clocking the top speed of the day at over 83.5 km/h – buoyed by a home crowd of tens of thousands, watching not only from the four-story shoreside grandstands, but across Southsea Common and on-water.
Crews adopted the 24-meter wingsail in fast, foiling conditions as Fletcher held an impressive lead to take the opening race victory, followed by podium places in each race thereafter.
Fletcher acknowledged the challenging course and epic crowds: “It's really nice to have a good Saturday. It was a tricky race course, but it seemed like if you knew what way to go and you ran... it was easy. It’s like anything - once you've got the hang of it! And that grandstand is pretty incredible. I was feeling immensely proud and privileged to be racing in front of that home crowd.”
After lacking consistency so far this season, Sebastien Schneiter’s Switzerland pulled out a stellar attack on the fleet, taking the top spot and up on their foils for the entirety of fleet race two. The third race went the way of the Kiwis, with Peter Burling’s New Zealand Black Foils finishing with a massive 30-second lead. Then it was all to race for as Tom Slingsby pulled an awesome start out of the bag to lead for the duration of the fourth and final fleet race of the day, taking the BONDS Flying Roos into third place overall, tied with New Zealand on points.
After racing ended, the Southsea Race Stadium transformed into the ultimate waterfront party, as Tom Grennan took to the mainstage, as SailGP’s Après-Sail kicked off with a stellar set-list for the crowds from the renowned British popstar.
Racing is due to start at 4pm today (Sunday). Three fleet races will be followed by a winner-takes-all final – and with gusts up to 33 knots predicted, top speeds are likely.
Après-Sail, fans will be treated to a live set by DJ Pete Tong, with the performance included in the cost of all ticket offerings. Limited tickets remain, available for purchase at SailGP.com/Portsmouth.