Team ROCKWOOL Racing to hit Danish waters this summer
by Jonathan Turner 27 May 2020 14:34 BST
Sydney SailGP, Event 1 Season 2 in Sydney Harbour, Sydney, Australia © Brian Carlin for SailGP
ROCKWOOL announces a unique collaboration with the Denmark SailGP Team athletes, kicking off with an action-packed summer of training, racing and record attempts in preparation for SailGP Season 2 in April 2021.
During a virtual press conference today featuring ROCKWOOL's Mirella Vitale and Denmark SailGP Team athletes Nicolai Sehested and Martin Kirketerp, ROCKWOOL launched Team ROCKWOOL Racing - a new initiative to support the training of the Denmark SailGP Team athletes over the coming months.
The news follows the postponement of SailGP Season 2 events to 2021 to ensure safety in light of the global COVID-19 outbreak. The first event of Season 2 will take place in spring 2021 in San Francisco. The results from the event that took place earlier this year in Sydney, Australia are null and void.
Mirella Vitale, Senior Vice President, Group Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs, said: "ROCKWOOL is proud to launch Team ROCKWOOL Racing to continue the fantastic partnership we have with the Denmark SailGP Team.
"We remain fully committed to the SailGP platform, which we believe is a perfect fit for ROCKWOOL and which we see as a long-term partnership".
She added: "In the build-up to Season 2, Team ROCKWOOL Racing offers us a platform to help keep the team together and activate key markets in Denmark and Northern Europe. We are proud to unveil a full schedule of activity for the coming months - including a #ROCKTheBoat Academy to promote sailing amongst Danish youth, hosted by the athletes themselves.
"We will of course be keeping an eye on the evolving social guidelines to ensure that safety remains paramount".
Record attempts throughout the summer
Team ROCKWOOL Racing will see the Denmark SailGP Team athletes training on board a fully branded GC32 catamaran, and will also feature a series of youth workshops and academy sessions, corporate activation opportunities and record attempts.
Helmsman Nicolai Sehested added: "We're extremely excited to be hitting the water with Team ROCKWOOL Racing and thank ROCKWOOL for their continued support to keep the group together - allowing us to gain valuable time sailing together, whilst activating around the country.
"We've had fantastic support from our fans since we joined the SailGP fleet, and we're looking forward to catching up with them in both Aarhus and Copenhagen in the coming months - plus hosting the first ever #ROCKTheBoat Academy and workshop sessions to engage more young sailors around Denmark".
Sehested also revealed that the team plans to take on a series of historic record attempts - including the Round Fyn and the Round Zealand ('Silver Spinnaker') records - in the coming months, and will also be present at Kiel Week in Germany, with more activities to be confirmed in the near future.
"We want to stay fast, and we see the record attempts as a great way to test ourselves against the clock and keep the pressure on. Of course, there's no substitute for the F50, which is the fastest sailing boat on Earth. But the GC32 is quick and challenging to sail, and does share some fundamental similarities to the F50 in that it's a big, foiling catamaran.
"The priority for us is to keep fresh and build our experience for SailGP Season 2, but if we can beat a few records along the way, then even better", he added. "Hopefully we'll be fully prepared to race against the world's best in SailGP when next year comes around. We're looking forward to getting back on the water".
For the full calendar of events and activities, visit ROCKWOOL's website at www.rockwoolgroup.com/racing