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Rivalries fuel interest in sport and are founded in confrontation. Somebody says something and before you know it you have fans taking sides. For a burgeoning sports league like SailGP, this is good news.
Spanish team helm Phil Robertson and his aggressive starting tactics has him in the cross-hairs of US team helm Jimmy Spithill who was nearly steamrolled in the UK event. More recently in Denmark, British helm Ben Ainslie accused Japan helm Nathan Outteridge of slimy tactics.
For SailGP to harness broad interest, heated rivalries can help and British fans are massively loyal.
The latest incident occurred when Ainslie and his crew were judged to not have given Outteridge’s Japanese team enough room at the weather mark, and were subsequently given a penalty by the umpire. While it looked like there was plenty of room, the umpires were reacting to Outteridge’s claim that there wasn’t…
To watch the incident, click here.
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