by Miranda Blazeby, Digital Editor SailGP
The third of Season 4’s three back-to-back European events takes place in Cádiz. From New Zealand’s return to Australia’s event win drought, we round up five things to watch out for when racing gets underway at the Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucia-Cádiz.
Will Cádiz’s choppy conditions play havoc?
This weekend’s racing venue, the Bay of Cádiz, is well known for its unstable sea state – with waves bouncing off the city wall to create a choppy water surface. This will make maneuvers hard to judge and boats hard to fly. Will teams manage to overcome the tricky conditions?
Can Spain win at home?
It’s been an impressive start for Spain in Season 4 – with two podiums, including their first ever event win. Driver Diego Botin admits it would be a ‘dream’ to win at home and the forecasted light wind conditions could perfectly suit the team’s strengths. Can Spain harness the crowds’ support to win at home?
New Zealand returns
After suffering extreme wing damage in Saint-Tropez and missing the entire Taranto event, New Zealand returns to the starting line this weekend. The return of a top tier team could play havoc with the fleet’s pecking order and push other teams down the leaderboard.
Can Emirates GBR pick up a third consecutive win?
Emirates GBR comes to Cádiz fresh from back-to-back event wins in Saint-Tropez and Taranto. Driver Ben Ainslie has talked about how important momentum and confidence is to the team’s performance. Can the British crew sail through the fleet to win another event and move even further up the leaderboard?
Will Australia win its first event of Season 4?
Despite sitting at the top of the Championship leaderboard, Tom Slingsby’s Australia hasn’t picked up an event win since the Season 3 Championship in San Francisco. Can the Aussies master Cádiz’s tricky conditions to beat the fleet and win in Spain?
The Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía-Cádiz takes place on October 14-15
