The British F50 crashed in the pre-start of the final race of the first day; Sir Ben Ainslie and his team are penalised by six points for the event and have been withdrawn from racing on the second day
Friday 17 December 2021 13:14, UK
Great Britain's SailGP Team have been ruled out of the Australian Sail Grand Prix after a collision with the Japanese SailGP Team.
The collision happened as both boats were approaching the start line during the pre-start of the third race of the day on Friday.
The British team on board their F50 did not see the Japanese boat and that resulted in a significant crash, with both boats being unable to continue. No member of either team was hurt.
The collision means that the British team have been penalised by six points for the event and two points for the season overall. The SailGP contact and damage policy rule means that Ainslie and his team are withdrawn from racing on the second day in Sydney too.
The damage caused to the Japanese F50 means that they're unable to use their boat on Saturday.
All teams in SailGP use identical F50 boats and the British team have offered their F50 to their competitor and any support the Japanese team require to enable them to go racing on Saturday.
"We were coming back in the final moments of the start, fighting for the top of line in a defensive mode against the Americans," Sir Ben Ainslie, the British helm, said about the collision.
"We just didn't see them at all [Japan's SailGP Team] which was devastating for both teams.
"Everyone was ok which is the most important thing, but sadly it probably means the end of our season as we receive hefty penalty points for the damage caused.
"It will also impact Japan, which is not what we want, and as is only correct we are giving them our F50 and any support they need to hopefully get them back out racing [on Saturday]."
Prior to the collision, Ainslie and his team had looked sharp during the first two races of the day and had secured a second-place and a fourth-place finish.
"The first two races were great to be involved in," Ainslie commented.
"It's super tight racing out there and all the teams were pushing super hard, so this was hugely frustrating for everyone, but that's sport and we will dust ourselves off and go again in San Francisco."
Watch every race day of SailGP Season 2, live on Sky Sports. The second day in Sydney is live on Sky Sports Mix from 5am on Saturday.
