the lonely one

The French team finished SailGP Season 3 in fourth place but their progress is encouraging for the future and for the 2024 America’s Cup.

Par
Martin Couturie

Posted on 08/05/2023 at 13:27update on 08/05/2023 at 1:39 p.m.

At the foot of the podium. Inevitably infuriating but also promising. The French SailGP team led by Quentin Delapierre finished season 3 of this high-speed circuit on small 50-foot catamarans in fourth place, after finishing fifth in the last round in San Francisco. “ As a competitor, finishing 4th, obviously I’m not happy, it annoys meadmitted the French skipper. It must mark us for next season. We can no longer afford to sail so little over a season. We have to manage to federate partners and allow this team to navigate much more. Today, we are faced with teams that sail 200 days a year when we are at 45. That inevitably creates gaps. We held on as hard as iron but, looking back, to win SailGP you have to sail more.»

A positive balance sheet

At the time of the balance sheet, Quentin Delapierre can undoubtedly be happy with the progress of the tricolor team which he recovered far from the best a year and a half ago. And now she is able to compete with teams led by sailing legends: Tom Slingsby for Australia (winner with 94 points), Peter Burling for New Zealand (2^e with 78 points) and Ben Ainslie for Great Britain (with 77 points). “ The overall balance of the season is positivesaid Delapierre, fourth with 75 points and winner of two events. We were far behind last season and now we are almost playing the final. I’m proud of the team and the arrival of Kevin Peponnet created a real change in dynamics. Matthieu Vandame is having a magnificent season, François Morvan, Olivier Herlédant, Timothé Lapauw, Maëlle Frascari, Manon Audinet, Amélie Riou, all have shown a lot of commitment and I really thank them. »

Quentin Delapierre and his crew, who hold the F50 speed record with a top speed of 99.94 km/h (53.96 knots) during the Saint-Tropez event last September, learned some great news at the beginning of February with the announcement of the launch of French challenge Orient Express Team for the next America’s Cup, in 2024 in Barcelona. Stéphane Kandler and Bruno Dubois, his bosses, are counting on the SailGP team, led by Delapierre, to shine the French colors during this ultimate meeting. Season 4 of SailGP will start in Chicago on June 16 and 17, before returning to Saint-Tropez on September 9 and 10. So many meetings to prepare for the 37^e edition of the legendary America’s Cup.