Swiss hope for SailGP exploit "The conditions will suit us better in San Francisco"

In San Francisco, Sébastien Schneiter and the Swiss SailGP team want to build on their good results to climb further up the rankings - less than a week after finishing 10th in Los Angeles.

No time to brood. Six days after the races in Los Angeles, the SailGP fleet continues in San Francisco(Saturday and Sunday live from 10.30 pm on blue Zoom). Under the majestic and legendary Golden Gate Bridge, the Swiss would like to give the favorites a run for their money. To do so, however, they will have to perform more consistently than before.

Sébastien Schneiter and his crew have already been able to keep up with the best in individual races, but there is still room for improvement, especially in strong winds. However, mild conditions with light winds are forecast for this weekend in the bay - a good opportunity for the Swiss sailors to demonstrate their strengths in lighter, almost domestic winds.

On the legendary area around Alcatraz Island, which has already hosted the last three finals, the Swiss team will be hoping to repeat or even improve on their performance from 2023. Back then, they finished a solid 7th place in their first appearance in the Californian bay - also with Sébastien Schneiter at the helm.

Improving maneuvers

"We made great progress at the starts, but struggled to stay in front afterwards," explained the man from Geneva after the leg in Los Angeles last weekend. The Swiss helmsman was annoyed by some uncleanliness in certain maneuvers - something that can be costly in a field of this quality. "We're really looking forward to San Francisco, where the conditions will probably suit us better."

The new crew configuration, which was changed significantly in the off-season, continues to make progress. The Swiss are currently in 7th place, with the Emirates/GBR team leading the overall standings ahead of the teams from Australia and New Zealand. In order not to lose touch with the leading group, the Swiss must now score a lot of points. The Germans are currently in 12th and last place.

The Australians, New Zealanders and Team Emirates GBR are likely to set the pace again at the front. But be careful: the Spaniards should not be underestimated either - they surprisingly won the grand final last year. The Danish boat suffered damage in Los Angeles and will not be at the start.