FORMULA ONE ON WATER
The action-packed hi-tech SuperFoiler Grand Prix, in its inaugural year, made waves on the Broadwater with stunning racing at the weekend.
GOLD Coast Mayor Tom Tate wants to lock in a leg of a wild new sailing race which backers are calling “Formula One on water”.
The action-packed hi-tech SuperFoiler Grand Prix, in its inaugural year, made waves on the Broadwater with stunning racing at the weekend.
It involved collisions, sailors overboard and closequarters duels between sleek, 26-foot carbon fibre craft.
America’s Cup stars – including Team New Zealand skipper and 2017 Cup champion Glenn Ashby – formed winning team Euroflex for the Gold Coast leg, the series’ third stop.
Series CEO Bill MacCartney, ex-promoter of the late Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket and former boss of Australia’s 18-foot skiff racing event, said his ambition for SuperFoilers was an annual globetrotting competition.
He compared it to Formula One or motorcycle Grand Prix but on water.
Impressed, Cr Tate said he wanted “a long-term partnership – I plan asking council to start negotiations for 2019 and beyond”.
“Part of the (Commonwealth Games) legacy is to supercharge our city as a major events destination so I haven’t given up on a round of the America’s Cup but for now, we’ll throw our full support into the SuperFoilers.”
The city came close to hosting a leg of the most recent America’s Cup but lack of dredging in the Broadwater killed it off.
Despite that, the SuperFoiler Grand Prix brought six teams to the Broadwater.
Ashby’s teammates were America’s Cup racers Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen.
Mr Macartney, inspired by foiling catamarans used in recent America’s Cups, came up with a smaller, super-fast foiling vessel that takes the exorbitant cost out.
Team costs sat at $350,000 each compared to the tens of millions typically spent on America’s Cup campaigns, he said.
The power-to-weight ratio of the water-skimming SuperFoilers, with room for just three on board, is the highest for any wind-powered vessel.
Ashby said it was an exciting concept and had attracted some of the world’s best.
Southport Yacht Club general manager Brett James said boats and spectators aplenty came out to watch.
The 7 network broadcast it. The final is in Sydney next month.
I HAVEN’T GIVEN UP ON AMERICA’S CUP — BUT FOR NOW, WE’LL THROW OUR FULL SUPPORT INTO THE SUPERFOILERS.”