SailGP: First F50s hit the water ahead of racing in Sydney

Canada, Germany and the United States were the only three teams to hit the water after official practice racing was cancelled amid forecasted thunderstorms.

It allowed new drivers Erik Heil and Taylor Canfield to get to grips with the tight racecourse of Sydney Harbour, with this weekend marking the first Australia SailGP event for both drivers.

The cancellation of practice racing means the wider F50 fleet will be going into Saturday’s racing completely cold, with no chance to undertake on water training when racing begins.

Saturday’s schedule comprises three fleet races, with a further two fleet races scheduled on Sunday. The top three ranking teams will then proceed into the winner-takes-all, event deciding Final.

Tom Slingsby’s Australia, still on the hunt for its elusive first Season 4 win, has been picked as the favorite to win the event – with both SailGP fans and commentators backing Slingsby’s crew.

SailGP veteran Nathan Outteridge will take the reins of New Zealand – currently second on the overall leaderboard – while Nicolai Sehested returns to the Danish team – currently third – this weekend to challenge for the team’s first ever event win.

The KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney takes place on February 24-25, with racing from 16:00 AEDT.

Text and images courtesy of SailGP.com.