Japan owns SailGP San Francisco opener

San Francisco, CA (May 4, 2019) – San Francisco Bay delivered on the opening day of SailGP with breeze in the teens, and while the racing was close, it was the Japanese team that dominated the three races.

After a week of intense training featuring highs and lows, with the Chinese chances of competing in the weekend nearly crushed earlier in the week, the six teams were raring to go and showcase the high-speed F50s.

One team managed to master the challenging conditions, which included regular gusts of 20 knots, with the Japan SailGP Team, helmed by Nathan Outteridge, winning all three races to top the leaderboard at the end of the first day.

“It was fantastic out there and I am super proud of the team, who did a great job,” said Outteridge. “We made a couple of errors here and there but clawed back in those races and couldn’t have asked for a better day. We know it’s still only halfway, and we have to do the job tomorrow, but all the training and hard work is paying off, which feels great.”

Hot on the Japanese team’s heels was the green and gold of the Australian team – helmed by Olympic champion Tom Slingsby – and the British team under the control of Dylan Fletcher. Both pushed the Japanese team in all three races but couldn’t quite match their speed.

“I couldn’t believe how close the racing was and how intense it was on the first reach. If anyone crashed, it would have been pretty major,” said Fletcher. “That intensity is why we sail these boats, and it was just literally the best racing of my life.”

After finishing last at the first event in Australia, the US Team was eager to make amends on their home waters. A third place finish in the second race of the day positioned them just short of the podium in fourth place at the end of the first day.

“100 percent it was tight racing. We had a close call at the finish with the British and were literally inches away from their transom,” said United States SailGP Team helmsman Rome Kirby. “It was definitely tough out there, one mistake and you get punished. We made a few mistakes today but learned a lot and we will keep improving and keep getting better. It was a solid day for us.”

Tomorrow’s racing will consist of two fleet races before a final showdown, when the top two teams will go head to head in a match race to crown the winner of San Francisco SailGP.

UPDATE: The Australian team report they were not at full strength. For details, click here.

SailGP details – Team rosters – Results – Where to watch – Facebook

Leaderboard San Francisco – Day 1
1st – Japan – 30pts
2nd – Australia – 26pts
3rd – Great Britain – 24pts
4th – United States – 22pts
5th – China – 17pts
6th – France – 16pts

Race 1
1st – Japan – 10pts
2nd – Australia – 9pts
3rd – Great Britain – 8pts
4th – United States – 7pts
5th – France – 6pts
6th – China – 5pts

Race 2
1st – Japan – 10pts
2nd – Australia – 9pts
3rd – United States – 8pts
4th – Great Britain – 7pts
5th – China – 6pts
6th – France – 5pts

Race 3
1st – Japan – 10pts
2nd – Great Britain – 9pts
3rd – Australia – 8pts
4th – United States – 7pts
5th – China – 6pts
6th – France – 5pts

San Francisco SailGP race course.

ABOUT SAILGP:
Established in 2018 and headquartered in London and San Francisco, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric, inshore racing in some of the iconic harbors around the globe and culminates with a $1 million winner-takes-all match race. Rival national teams from Australia, China, France, Great Britain, Japan, and the United States battle it out in identical wing-powered, foiling F50 catamarans, engineered to exceed 50 knots.

2019 Schedule
Sydney, Australia (February 15-16)
San Francisco, USA (May 4-5)
New York, USA (June 21-22)
Cowes, UK (August 10-11)
Marseille, France (September 20-22)

Source: SailGP