Great Britain hit ‘rock bottom’ in cruel crash at Denmark SailGP

There has been carnage at the Denmark SailGP as team Great Britain was ruled out following a brutal crash as the weather wreaked havoc.

The opening day of the Denmark SailGP in Copenhagen was cancelled with a lack of wind preventing any racing from taking place.

All eight teams launched and waited in their F50s but the wind didn’t come, meaning the results of the second day will be all the more important.

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“Of course it’s a bit disappointing not being able to race today but we are sailors and we need the wind, like a surfer needs the surf to perform,” Australia’s team driver Tom Slingsby said.

“But the forecast looks good for tomorrow and we have been sailing well so I am confident. “We have to put it all on the table, everything will count.

“At least tomorrow we know we’ll get a nice breeze and we’ll get some racing in.”

Earlier it was disaster for Great Britain when they hit an uncharted rock just outside the racecourse boundary while completing training drills on the final day of practice.

The brutal collision with the rock underneath the water sent a team member flying across the boat and forced Great Britain to withdraw from the entire Denmark event after sustaining serious damage.

Great Britain SailGP Team co-owner and driver Ben Ainslie said: “We were training just outside the racecourse boundary and unfortunately hit an unmarked rock.

“We sustained a lot of damage to the starboard rudder, daggerboard and board casing.

“We reviewed the damage ashore and unfortunately it has put us out of this event, which is a difficult call for the team.

Ouch. Team GB’s yacht hit rock and sent a crew member flying.

“Incidents like this are tough but that’s sport, you’re going to have these moments and the teams that keep their heads up are the ones that come back stronger and that’s what we are going to do”.

It is a cruel blow for the British team, who were coming in second place in the overall SailGP season three leaderboard on 24 points, only five behind the Australians.

The incident has the potential to give team Australia a huge advantage as the season continues.

“Technically it depends how we go tomorrow and how we perform in this event overall,” Slingsby said.

“If we end up winning this event we could gain eight points on the Britts to their last place so it has the potential to make massive gains for us in the season.”

It’s the first time SailGP has been held in Denmark and Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary made an appearance at the event in Copenhagen, visiting both the Danish and Australian teams.

Honored to have had Their Royal Highnesses, the Crown Prince Couple of Denmark, with us this morning! 👑 🇩🇰#DYK that HRH Crown Princess Mary is originally from Australia? 🇦🇺#SailGP#PoweredbyNature#DenmarkSGPpic.twitter.com/UwgBK3s6Iz

— SailGP (@SailGP) August 19, 2022

Racing will resume late tonight (AEST) as scheduled and where the champion of the Denmark Sail Grand Prix will be crowned.

Australian fans can tune in live on Fox Sports and on Kayo in Australia to watch the final day of racing, which takes place at 11:30pm AEST. Tune in to live action and replaces for free via Kayo Freebies.