SailGP returns and the Spanish F50 Victoria does so with luxury reinforcements. Olympians Jordi Xammar, Joan Cardona, Florian Trittel and Diego Botín have traveled to Aarhus to put himself under the command of Xabi Fernández and try to make one forget the bad feelings obtained in the last Plymouth Grand Prix in which the Spanish team was last after being penalized with a black flag in one of the starts.
Xammar and Cardona, who achieved bronze medals in the last Tokyo Games, are the great attractions of the F50 Victoria in Aarhus and they are also making their debut. It will be the first time that they will go on board because in Bermuda, Italy and England they could not compete because they were immersed in the middle of the Olympic race. This Friday and Saturday the waters of Aarhus will host the Danish Grand Prix and, without a doubt, it is a special stage for Xammar because in 2018 he won, together with Nico Rodríguez in 470, the bronze medal in the World Cup. “On board you feel the power and speed of the boat, it is incredible. Of course, you have to get on to understand why it surprises and captures so much. The challenge is to understand how the boat reacts to adapt your movements. The F50 moves a lot and there are many centrifugal forces that you need to understand to manage. But I am very happy and expectant. It’s a great experience, ”a rookie Xammar told AS after the training session. Of course, during the competition he is scheduled to step aside so that Phil Robertson is the skipper. In the future, the Catalan sailor will take over and be the ‘starter’, but they are still in full sweet transition. The crew for this Grand Prix will be made up of Jordi Xammar, Phil Robertson, Florian Trittel, Diego Botin, Joan Cardona, Mateu Barber, Antonio “Ñeti” Cuervas-Mons and Andrea Emone.
The conditions that have been found in Aarhus, with winds close to 20 knots, will cause instability in the F50 so safety will be vital. The Spanish SailGP team has a chance to resurface after being last at Plymouth and losing the lead. He is currently sixth, three points behind Australia, the leader. This Friday, the first three tests will start at 15:00 and Spain does not expect an easy battle since Australia has Tom Slingsby, the United States is led by Jimmy Spithill, New Zealand is led by Peter Burling and Great Britain is led by Sir Ben Ainslie.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION SAILGP CIRCUIT
1. Australia, 22 points.
2. Great Britain, 22
3. France, 21
4. United States, 19
5. Japan, 19
6. Spain, 19
7. Denmark, 17
8. New Zealand, 17