“It’s finally happening!” We just believed even harder in what we could do and it happened. Next step: win a final.” The words are signed Quentin Delapierre, happy and fulfilled pilot of the France SailGP Team after a successful stage in New Zealand. On the other side of the world, the French crew brilliantly took second place in the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix, the third meeting of the 2024 season. Now fourth in the provisional championship ranking, the French are only one away. point in the Top 3, their ultimate objective in order to reach the Grand Final in San Francisco in July.
There is still a way to go to achieve this, but the French team demonstrated its full potential on the east coast of the country’s South Island. Second in the first regatta contested under around fifteen knots and a generous sun, the tricolor catamaran was less comfortable in the process, holding back a sixth place in the second race. But it was in the last race of the day that the Blues struck a big blow by taking the lead ahead of Spain, after passing the first buoy. Untouchable until the finish line, Quentin Delapierre and his small team qualified (with 25 points over the three races) for the three-way final alongside New Zealand (26 points) of Peter Burling and Canada (24 points).
However, the Kiwis quickly demonstrated their superiority in the final. The Blues had to settle for a promising silver medal for the future. “We wanted to go for victory but I think we managed to put pressure on the New Zealanders and it wasn’t easy for them. This second place comes at perfect timing and we move up well in the general classification. There is a lot of joy in the team. It’s good for the championship, even if San Francisco is still far away. The dynamic within the team is really strong,” explained Quentin Delapierre. There are now four meetings remaining before closing a season which could be historic for France, in Bermuda, in Halifax, in New York and San Francisco.
