Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix: uphill races for Red Bull Italy Team

The sixth act of the circuit invented by Russell Coutts and Larry Ellison, now in its fifth year, is the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, held this past weekend. Skipping the Brazil event on May 3 and 4, crews are racing each other again after more than 2 months.

This leg of SailGP is definitely the most successful, with more than 10,000 paying spectators in the grandstands set up on the waterfront at Governor’s Island Race Stadium, a success certainly related to the choice of location. Governor’s Island is the island in Upper New York Bay from which one can see the New York City skyline and the Statue of Liberty. It is a small island equipped for being outdoors and playing sports in nature, where no cars are allowed to circulate and where you can only get there by two different NYC Ferries: one leaving from Manhattan, the other from Brooklyn. It is one of the most beloved places for New Yorkers forced into the city in the warm weather, partly because the cost of the Ferry is really popular, only $5 to get there and back from the mainland.

The Spanish team coached by our very talented Simone Salvà, coach of the youth and women who raced for Luna Rossa on the AC40s, qualified in third place after three races on day one and three on day two. Diego Botin’s Spain was then perfect in the final three and beat Peter Burling’s New Zealand and Quentin Delapierre’s France, which had won the San Francisco act.

The first day had not gone well for Red Bull Italy SailGP Team, which ends the New York event in 11th place (12-12-8-8-7-9). The performance of the Italian team, helmed by two-time gold medalist in the Nacras Ruggero Tita, was undoubtedly characterized by the last-minute forfeit of strategist Maelle Frascari, caused by the urgency of surgery, who had to be replaced in the role by Giorgia Bertuzzi. The New York event was particularly tough for the Italians, who therefore had to race with only the three-man crew on the first day and were forced to withdraw on the second due to a tilt in the batteries. Situations that led them to finish last twice in races one and two.

leggi anche

1998. Hello Tabarly, unforgettable sailing legend

Finally, in the overall standings after 6 acts, Team Spain SailGP overtakes Tom Slingsby’s Bonds Flying (Australia) and Black Foils (New Zealand) led by Peter Burling.