An aerial view of the damaged New Zealand SailGP Team F50 catamaran after racing on day one of the France Sail Grand Prix round in Saint-Tropez, France. Photo: Photosport
The New Zealand SailGP team were unable to compete on the final day of racing at the France Sail Grand Prix in Saint-Tropez after damage to the catamaran's wing could not be repaired in time.
The 29-metre wingsail collapsed shortly after the end of racing on day one, breaking off into the water. No injuries were sustained to crew.
However, an investigation is underway as to why the wing came out of alignment which caused the structural failure to happen.
A replacement wing is on its way from New Zealand for the next event in 14 days' time.
Speaking immediately following the incident, New Zealand driver Peter Burling said: "Thankfully everyone on board is safe - it could have so easily fallen at a different angle and we were all on the starboard side of the F50 just touching down - something we've done 30-40 times today. We just heard an almighty bang and watched it all unravel."
New Zealand wing trimmer Blair Tuke said the potential danger involved with the incident had hit home.
"Everyone's pretty shaken after what was obviously a very scary incident. We've had the time to react, ascertain that we're okay and now as the minutes and hours go on, I think we're starting to realise both the extent of the damage and how lucky we were," he said.
"We're also pretty gutted. It was a strong statement from the team to bounce back from Los Angeles and win race one, followed by two other really well-sailed races."
In the final race of the France event, Ben Ainslie's Great Britain team triumphed over Australia and Spain in a dramatic sprint to the finish line.
The win ended a long-running drought for the British team, which last won an event at the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix in May 2021.
The winner-takes-all Final was packed with racing action, plenty of lead changes and a dramatic last minute penalty as Australia and Great Britain put it all on the line.
The three-boat final was tense from the gun, with Australia and Great Britain going head to head on the start line. It was the Brits who won the best start - crossing the line with just 0.27 seconds to go and traveling faster than both their competitors.
But the Aussies recovered well to secure the all-important inside track to mark 1, with Great Britain losing the lead on the second leg of the race. From there, Ainslie's crew fought tooth-and-nail to minimise manoeuvres and maximise fly time and made massive gains to ultimately overtake Australia on the penultimate leg of the race.
A masterfully-executed manoeuvre by Ainslie landed a penalty on the Aussies at a crucial moment, allowing the Brits to pass the Flying Roos in dramatic style to triumphantly cross the finish line.
Speaking from the water, Ainslie admitted 'it's been a while' between podium topping performances.
"It's been a frustrating one, because we've obviously got a great team and there were times when things weren't going our way - it's taken a lot of determination to get us here."
Team New Zealand finished first, sixth and fifth in the first three fleet races of the weekend for an eighth place overall.
The Kiwis currently sit fifth on the Season 4 standings with 17 points behind Australia (26), Spain (24), Denmark (23) and Great Britain (19).
- RNZ