Watch Sydney's SailGP Grand Prix live on Sky Sports on Friday and Saturday at 5am on Sky Sports Mix; the British team are currently fourth in the Season 2's standings behind Australia, United States and Japan
Thursday 16 December 2021 19:03, UK
"One race at a time, that’s right! We’re looking forward to it..."
The words of Sir Ben Ainslie as he looks ahead to the penultimate event of SailGP Season 2, which takes place on Friday and Saturday in Australia.
Sydney's Sail Grand Prix marks the start of the final sprint towards the finish line, a finish line that is located in San Francisco. On March 26 and 27, 2022, the outcome of Season 2 will be decided and one team will secure SailGP's trophy and $1m following a winner-takes-all Grand Final.
The 44-year-old, who remains the most successful Olympic sailor of all-time, was speaking to Sky Sports via video link from his hotel room where he was spending his quarantine period.
Functional is the word that would best describe Ainslie's surroundings; levels of natural light were limited and no windows were able to be thrown open, for obvious reasons. Ainslie was not complaining though, far from it, instead, he was incredibly grateful to be in the country and be at the start of race week.
"As a team, we love Sydney and I certainly love Sydney… it's one of those happy places generally," the British helmsman said.
It's a great city, the Sydneysiders love their sport, and they love sailing. Sailing on the harbour is one of those iconic venues. It's one of, if not, the best sailing venue in the world in my opinion. We're very happy to be back here.
"There aren't that many cities where the CBD is so close to where you end up sailing and racing, maybe San Francisco and Chicago are two others, but there aren't many.
"You're almost sailing on a lake, so the winds are always very turbulent and very shifty. It's very difficult to read and quite a lot of local knowledge is needed.
"As I mentioned, the fact that the Sydneysiders love their sailing means that if you go out on a summer's weekend, the harbour is packed with boats. So, if you're into sailing and love the sport, then it's kind of the place to be!"
One of the great features of SailGP is the fact that the teams traverse the globe and sail in all different conditions. Every team sails on an identical F50 boat and the fact that data is able to be seen between teams, makes the competition all the more intriguing.
The last time the British SailGP team were in Sydney it was their debut in the competition back in 2020. After that event, COVID-19 hit and the original schedule for Season 2 was cancelled.
"We had one of those golden moments where everything worked for us," Ainslie said.
"I was asked recently whether we expected to see that [a big victory of us] again. My response was absolutely not because the standard of the fleet has just gone up immeasurably.
"From the teams that were new to the league to the top teams, everyone has upped their game and you can see that in the results."
When it was safer to do so in April 2021, Season 2 started again from scratch and now, after six events, Ainslie and his team are positioned fourth in the standings.
The British sailor has not been at the helm for the entire season, he missed events in the middle to welcome a new addition into his family - his son Fox - but the business-end of a competition is where he thrives.
Unsurprisingly, given the fact that they're on home waters, lead the current standings and are the defending champions, Ainslie believes the Australian team will be fired up.
"They're very much a confidence team and their tails are definitely up at the moment," he said.
"Tom Slingsby has been doing well on different circuits, as I said, their confidence is up and they're at home, so they are very much the favourite.
Ainslie is well aware of the pressure that is sitting on his shoulders too, especially after the team finished the last regatta in Cadiz with a capsize.
"We need a good event," Ainslie said. "Our performances have been generally good in SailGP, but we have made a couple of critical errors at critical moments and they have cost us dearly through the season so far."
As one of the most experienced sailors in the competition, and someone that has won consistently on the greatest of stages, the British sailor is taking it all in his stride and aiming to keep his team calm too.
"In my own experience, if you observe the top sports teams in the world, until they have actually achieved what they set out to achieve, they try and keep their emotions in check," he added.
"You've got to try and keep that consistency going and that hunger for continual development to really maximise performance."
In total, the Sydney Sail Grand Prix will comprise of two days of racing; five fleet races will be followed by a winner-takes-all podium race between the top-three boats.
Once racing in Sydney is complete, all eight teams will turn their focus on the final regatta San Francisco and the British outfit will hope that they have put themselves firmly in the mix for a first SailGP trophy and the $1m prize fund.
Watch every race day of SailGP Season 2, live on Sky Sports. The opening day in Sydney is live on Sky Sports Mix from 5am on Friday. The second day of racing starts at the same time, also on Sky Sports Mix, on Saturday.
