Switzerland outperformed the entire fleet when it came to starting in Taranto's practice racing.
While the Swiss didn't top the leaderboard at the end of the day, they consistently performed the best starts throughout all three practice races.
Sebastien Schneiter's team was the quickest to cross the line after the gun – taking an average of just 1.2 seconds, while ROCKWOOL DEN took the longest – 9.4 seconds.
Switzerland also had the highest starting boat speed, racking up an average of 50.6 km/h, while Spain had the slowest – 31.8 km/h.
Switzerland was also top when it came to start line positioning, and was placed an average of 13.8m from the line at the gun, while Erik Heil's Germany was positioned the furthest away – an average of 100.5m.
As a result of its excellent starting, the Swiss had the highest Mark 1 position – an average of 2.3, beating Australia's 3.7 and far outperforming the fleet's lowest Mark 1 position – Spain's 8.
However, Switzerland failed to capitalize on its excellent starting performance, picking up an average finish position of 4.7, which was beaten by Australia, ROCKWOOL DEN and the United States – all of which had higher finishing positions.
It comes after driver Sebastien Schneiter said improving Switzerland's starting strategy in Taranto is key.
Switzerland outperforms entire fleet in Taranto practice starts
23 SEPTEMBER 2023Feature
by Miranda Blazeby, Digital EditorTags:
ROCKWOOL Italy Sail Grand PrixSwitzerlandSwitzerland outperformed the entire fleet when it came to starting in Taranto's practice racing.
While the Swiss didn't top the leaderboard at the end of the day, they consistently performed the best starts throughout all three practice races.
Season 4 // Switzerland and Australia in Taranto practice racing
Sebastien Schneiter's team was the quickest to cross the line after the gun – taking an average of just 1.2 seconds, while ROCKWOOL DEN took the longest – 9.4 seconds.
Switzerland also had the highest starting boat speed, racking up an average of 50.6 km/h, while Spain had the slowest – 31.8 km/h.
Season 4 // Switzerland leads the fleet in Taranto practice racing starts
Switzerland was also top when it came to start line positioning, and was placed an average of 13.8m from the line at the gun, while Erik Heil's Germany was positioned the furthest away – an average of 100.5m.
As a result of its excellent starting, the Swiss had the highest Mark 1 position – an average of 2.3, beating Australia's 3.7 and far outperforming the fleet's lowest Mark 1 position – Spain's 8.
Season 4 // Emirates GBR and Switzerland at close mark rounding in Taranto practice racing
However, Switzerland failed to capitalize on its excellent starting performance, picking up an average finish position of 4.7, which was beaten by Australia, ROCKWOOL DEN and the United States – all of which had higher finishing positions.
It comes after driver Sebastien Schneiter said improving Switzerland's starting strategy in Taranto is key.
Italy Sail Grand Prix | Taranto | Season 4 | Switzerland | Practice
Speaking at a pre-event press conference, he said: “If we start in front I feel we're really able to fight the top teams, if we start at the back we might come back in some races but not all of them, so we're really looking at the starts this weekend.”
Elsewhere, Quentin Delapierre's France picked up the highest speed on practice day – 85.5 km/h – as well as the highest average boat speed – 49.4 km/h.
The ROCKWOOL Italy Sail Grand Prix | Taranto takes place on September 23-24, with racing kicking off at 13:30 CEST.
