Kiwi team predicted to change tack in new SailGP season
New Zealand are tipped to be the big movers for season three of SailGP which roars into action in Bermuda this weekend.
The talent-stacked Kiwis struggled through their debut effort as they joined season two last year, eventually finishing fifth.
With many of the crew fresh off their America’s Cup success and then adding the pressures of the Tokyo Olympics, they never found their rhythm in the 50-foot foiling catamarans used in the global league.
But Freddie Carr, the larger-thanlife British America’s Cup grinder who is now a key TV commentator for the SailGP broadcasts, believes the team led by Peter Burling and Blair Tuke will bounce back strongly.
‘‘The disappointment for those guys to miss an Olympic gold medal on the final downwind on the line is way more than I could comprehend in terms of turning your head around and focusing on sailing,’’ Carr said of what Burling and Tuke experienced as they were just pipped for another 49er Olympic title.
‘‘I imagine that would devastate you for a good few months – it’s going to take a while to bounce back from there and maybe the second half of their [SailGP] season was a little bit tainted by that.’’
Carr also felt the crew, which included fellow America’s Cup winners Josh Junior, Andy Maloney, Louis Sinclair and Marcus Hansen, had struggled to adjust to the catamarans after so much of their focus had been on successfully mastering the giant 75-foot foiling monohulls for Team New Zealand’s winning defence at Auckland 2021.
‘‘It doesn’t surprise me that it didn’t feel as natural to them as they hoped,’’ he said.
But Carr believed lessons would be learned, and New Zealand were far more acquainted with what lay ahead of them now as they looked to close the gap on double champions Australia led by Tom Slingsby.
‘‘They’re going back to waters they know,’’ Carr said. ‘‘The Kiwis are a tight group ... they will be the team that makes the significant jump.’’
Tuke admitted their opening season hadn’t been as successful as they hoped but felt they were on an upward curve. They were excited to be back in the boat and, with more focus dedicated to the SailGP programme, were hopeful of improved performances.
Training had been going well in Bermuda this week, and they were excited to get into racing tomorrow andMonday (NZT).
‘‘Last season was a platform year for us or a building year, and the learning curve was very steep,’’ he said.
‘‘Bermuda is a good place to restart. We really enjoyed the America’s Cup here [in 2017] and have fond memories. There’s that extra bit of buzz coming back here, and a real buzz of what’s ahead of us in terms of where we want to get to.’’