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SailGP 2026 : New Team & Transfer Rumors SailGP Today
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00:00Welcome to CellGP Today.
00:01In this episode, I'm joined by Stevie and Lisa
00:03and we talk about transfers, we talk speculation,
00:06we talk about Team 14 and who could be joining the league
00:09and we also talk about which drivers are on the hot seat
00:12and who might potentially be looking over their shoulder.
00:16It's all going on here at CellGP.
00:18Let's get into it.
00:25It's getting to that point in the season
00:27where speculation is rife at CellGP,
00:30transfers, new teams, the lot.
00:33I'm here with Stevie Morrison.
00:34We're going to talk through it.
00:35Stevie, first up, the biggest news, Team 14 joining 2027.
00:40Who could it be?
00:41Who could it be?
00:42Well, there is a great question, isn't there?
00:44I mean, pretty long list.
00:46That is for sure.
00:47I mean, there's obviously rumours.
00:48We hear about rumours, don't we?
00:50And we hear names like, you know,
00:52Hannah Mills associated with things.
00:54We hear, you know, there's interest from the Dutch sailing teams
00:56of the, again, very strong 49er dynamic there.
00:59There's Bart and Flores, four-time world champions in the 49er.
01:02Bart's wife, Adil, gold medalist from Marseille.
01:05You know, the Dutch would be a bit of a super-bar team.
01:09You know, the Japanese were in season one and season two.
01:12Where have they gone?
01:13We're going to Hong Kong.
01:14I mean, maybe you know.
01:15Maybe we're going to Hong Kong.
01:15Is that China?
01:16Yeah, maybe that's a sign.
01:17There was, you know, we heard about the Bermudan team.
01:19It was, I think, sort of a sign to like a crowdfunding
01:22or Bitcoin or something like that.
01:24So there's plenty of rumours.
01:25It's nothing too concrete.
01:27I know Argentina have got a pretty incredible sailing nation.
01:30They'd love to probably come and challenge
01:32with that interest down in South America.
01:34So, yeah, a lot of rumours at the moment.
01:36But, yeah, I hope you knew.
01:37Well, what we don't know is who the team is.
01:40But what we do know is that when a new team joins LGP,
01:43it can almost create a snowball effect.
01:45People moving, swapping, being poached from other teams,
01:48as we saw with Artemis Sweden last season, right?
01:51Yeah, I mean, they started a bit of a wing trimmer
01:53sort of conundrum, didn't they?
01:55Where Draper left Australia
01:57or did Gooby get signed to Australia?
01:59We don't know.
02:00But that really snowballed things.
02:02Andy Maloney coming out.
02:04And at the moment, it's an interesting one
02:06because I kind of feel like last year
02:08was the first big transfer window.
02:10Yep.
02:11OK, and I suppose I left that
02:13and I'm unfortunately really looking at Mubadla Brazil
02:16and I feel they were a bit naive
02:18when they signed the contracts for their first season.
02:21I feel, I mean, I don't know the details,
02:24but you sign Andy Maloney.
02:26Yep.
02:26And you keep him for a year.
02:28Yeah.
02:29And now I heard that Ian Jensen,
02:31when he went to Australia, signed for three years.
02:33Right, OK, so they're mixing it up.
02:34Yeah, so the teams are sort of a bit more streetwise
02:37and what I don't know
02:39and what I kind of feel like maybe the team
02:41should have to make public going forward,
02:43I'm not sure,
02:44but I've not actually seen any of these contracts.
02:46I've heard that as a rumour.
02:47Sure.
02:47I find it very hard if you sign Ian Jensen
02:49that you don't lock him down.
02:51Yeah.
02:51And yeah, one for you on the ground.
02:53You know, what are they signing?
02:55So there are a lot more rumours.
02:57And, you know, as I say,
02:59if you speculate around what team's going to come,
03:03that's going to answer a lot of questions on it.
03:06Well, I've got a lot of questions
03:07and someone that knows a lot about SLGP
03:09and also has a lot of rumours herself
03:11is Lisa Darmanin.
03:13Let's hear what she thinks about next season.
03:15Hi, team.
03:16I hear you are about to talk team transfers.
03:20Sorry I couldn't be there,
03:21but, you know, I had to give you a report anyway.
03:24I think, you know, it's really interesting
03:26because this time last season, we knew a lot.
03:28We knew the wing trimmer domino effect
03:30going through the fleet.
03:31This season, I've heard sort of two big rumours.
03:34It all kind of comes around Boat 14
03:36and what they're going to do
03:37because that's what we saw last season.
03:38Artemis come in, domino effect throughout the fleet.
03:42Now, I hear there is one big player.
03:45Definitely, the new driver of Boat 14
03:47is coming from the existing fleet,
03:49which is really exciting
03:50because so we are going to see
03:51a little bit of mixing going on there.
03:53In terms of who they are trying to poach,
03:56I heard they're trying to poach a few big players.
03:58I'm not sure if they've pulled it off or not.
04:01So if that happens, we will see a lot of shuffle.
04:04However, I think a lot of athletes,
04:06especially the good ones that people would want to buy,
04:09are signed in for multi-year deals.
04:11I couldn't get confirmation of that.
04:13I tried.
04:14So, you know, I think we're going to see
04:16a little bit less movement than last season,
04:18but we are going to see some fresh talent
04:20and I'm really looking forward to that.
04:21You know, there's so many great athletes out there.
04:23There's only so many spots at Sal GP.
04:25So to see who shows up to Pensacola training camp
04:28will be really interesting
04:30and to see how the team sort of build
04:32their depth of talent.
04:33I also think that there's going to be
04:34a really cool driver sub in happening
04:36with one of the top teams next season.
04:38And, you know, I think that's exciting.
04:39It's going to give us something to talk about.
04:41Anyway, excited to hear what you guys have heard
04:43and we can spread the rumor mill for 2027.
04:46Well, there you go.
04:47Lisa keeping it cards very close to her chest
04:50because I think she knows a lot more
04:52than she's letting on there.
04:53You reckon?
04:53I almost thought she didn't.
04:55I thought it sort of sat in with what we said
04:57about there's not too much.
04:59Yeah.
04:59I think the interesting, you know,
05:00we saw Artemis had John Gibson
05:03during a training in Valencia.
05:06With a foot injury.
05:06Yeah, so I wonder if Nathan,
05:09that's him missing a few events next year.
05:11That's an interesting one.
05:12I think one of the interesting ones is the French.
05:14Yep.
05:15I feel like they've sort of come up to,
05:17almost plateaued a bit, you know.
05:19They were very unfortunate
05:20at the beginning of the season.
05:22Contant's done a fantastic job.
05:24Yep.
05:26But, you know, as he distracted elsewhere,
05:29as he maybe reached his top,
05:31they've got Enzo Boulanger came in,
05:33Mothworld champion.
05:35He's done a little bit on wing,
05:37but maybe, you know,
05:37he's used to driving fast foiling boats.
05:40Would the French think,
05:41okay, we've got to make more changes?
05:42They've got a lot of sponsorship
05:43and commercial backing.
05:45Sure.
05:47I think with the black foils
05:48having had the season they've had,
05:51that for a team like France,
05:53this would have been,
05:53wow, this is the door open
05:54to get to the grand final.
05:56So is there pressure on Contant?
05:57Yeah.
05:58With all that commercial backing
05:59and someone like Enzo sat in the background,
06:02youngster Mothworld champion,
06:03right at the cutting edge of the sport.
06:05He'd be an interesting one,
06:07especially when you think about,
06:08you know,
06:08the American Magic training base
06:10out in Pensacola
06:11that we've got access to now
06:13and the French would be able
06:14to get out there,
06:14get him some time on the tools
06:16to perhaps come into it.
06:18So he's quite interesting.
06:19And then if we do go,
06:20so she did say
06:23that someone from in the late,
06:24I'm convinced Hannah Mills
06:25was really annoyed.
06:27Yeah.
06:28Oh, really annoyed.
06:28That's harsh.
06:29But she felt sort of a bit disgruntled
06:31when Ben Ainslie put...
06:33Handed over to Dylan.
06:34Well, handed to Giles
06:35and then Dylan.
06:36So she was sort of,
06:37you know, knocked twice.
06:38Right.
06:38And she said,
06:39hang on,
06:39I've got two gold medals
06:40and a silver.
06:41Giles has got two gold medals
06:42and Dylan's only got one.
06:43Yeah.
06:44What's wrong with me?
06:45Yeah.
06:45You know,
06:46and Hannah's feisty.
06:47I've been lucky enough
06:48to work with her
06:48and she's a strong character.
06:50So I wouldn't be surprised
06:51to see her around it.
06:53Then you look at the British
06:54and you think,
06:56I mean,
06:56this is an absolute stir up here.
06:59But then...
07:00Go on, do it.
07:00Well,
07:02if you're Luke Parkinson
07:03and you're used to winning everything
07:07and he's been sailing with Hannah,
07:09he's in the team.
07:10If you're going to set up a new team,
07:11you need experience
07:12in those key positions.
07:13Now, I think she could drive.
07:15Yeah.
07:16You've got to have a good wing trimmer
07:18or a good flight controller.
07:19But the problem we've got in the league
07:20is where are these other sailors?
07:23I mentioned Enzo,
07:24but he's not,
07:24he's probably had an hour driving the boat.
07:26You mentioned Harry Melges
07:27in another podcast we did
07:29and Harry's not had a lot of time
07:31on the tools.
07:32So if you could grab someone like Parco,
07:34you know,
07:35maybe that British team's
07:36splintering a bit.
07:37Maybe that's why they're not performing
07:38this year as well
07:39because there's things going on
07:40behind the scenes.
07:40I don't know.
07:41And I think there's a few dynamics
07:43going on here
07:44that we could talk about.
07:45You've got the licensing issues,
07:48as you've mentioned,
07:49getting people time on the tools.
07:50The America Magic Pensacola training base
07:52will fix that hopefully
07:54and solve that issue for some of them.
07:55But then you've got
07:56the nationality rule,
07:57having 50% of whoever it is,
08:00whether it's China, Japan,
08:01whoever you mentioned earlier,
08:03we've got to make sure that...
08:04Don't put it all on me.
08:06I'm sure you had some of these ideas as well.
08:08Yeah.
08:10Half of the team,
08:11obviously 50% rule,
08:13depending on how many people they have,
08:15have to be from that nationality.
08:16So that's a potential issue there.
08:18And then you've also got,
08:19as you said,
08:20people who are potentially lower down
08:22in the standings
08:23in different teams
08:24who are like,
08:24I want a piece of that gold.
08:27I want to chase the dream
08:28of winning a SLGP championship.
08:30And they're going to be looking
08:30to move potentially
08:31to one of those higher teams
08:32if there's a shuffle happening.
08:34So yeah,
08:35I can see it really
08:36being an interesting
08:38transfer window this season
08:40with a new team coming in
08:41and all those dynamics going on.
08:43If you had to put your money
08:45on someone moving...
08:47Stevie, by the way,
08:48he does everything.
08:49I don't know if I...
08:50I genuinely don't know everything.
08:51because Lisa's the one
08:53that's doing that.
08:55I think what Lisa's point is true.
08:57We're going to see
08:57some new names for the league.
08:59Fundamentally,
09:01there aren't that many sailors
09:02in the world
09:03that have had the opportunity
09:05or have the talent
09:06to sail an F-50.
09:08It's a different game.
09:09You're not trimming sails
09:11with a rope.
09:11You're using buttons to trim it.
09:13You're flying things
09:13with a PlayStation
09:15remote control.
09:17It's a very,
09:17very different game.
09:19the team's going to have
09:20to find new athletes.
09:23As you mentioned,
09:24you think of someone
09:25like Tom Johnson
09:26who's been wing trimmer
09:28with Rockwell Denmark.
09:29They've had a couple...
09:30I'm slightly loathe
09:32to mention it
09:32because they've had
09:32a slight upturn
09:33in their season.
09:34But is he looking out
09:35and going,
09:35hang on a minute,
09:36these guys I was racing
09:38with earlier on.
09:39I've won a piece
09:39of that prize money.
09:40I'm not getting on the podium.
09:42So any of the sailors,
09:44and they'll all rate themselves,
09:45Jason Saunders,
09:46flight controller
09:47with the French.
09:48Super talent.
09:50Does he think,
09:51actually I want to go
09:52and join another team
09:53because I can,
09:54not only can I get my wage,
09:55I can be earning
09:56a big chunk
09:57of this prize money
09:58at each event.
09:58We could be on some rumours here.
09:59British,
10:00French speaking.
10:01Yes.
10:02British nationality.
10:03Well, it's Kiwi.
10:04Oh, Kiwi, sorry.
10:04Yeah, yeah.
10:05And then Parco.
10:05Parco, yeah.
10:07Parco seems to have
10:08more passports you can have.
10:10Well, and you know,
10:11we do a lot of events
10:12in the Middle East.
10:12Yeah.
10:13It's a Middle East team.
10:13You go to Parco,
10:14what he did
10:15around the world race
10:16representing Abu Dhabi.
10:18Okay.
10:19Right.
10:19He won it.
10:20Here we go.
10:20Right.
10:21So is Parco
10:21going to be leading a team?
10:23Yeah, yeah.
10:23From flight control.
10:25I mean, yeah,
10:25this is the stuff
10:26we don't know.
10:27What I do think we know
10:28is we've got to get
10:29new athletes into the league.
10:31So the team
10:31is either going to cause
10:32carnage
10:33with some big contracts
10:34or going to have to go
10:36and find some youngsters
10:37new to the sport,
10:39bring them in.
10:39That's exciting
10:40in its own way,
10:41but that would then
10:42be really hard.
10:43They would struggle.
10:43Yeah.
10:45The team would have
10:45a tough first season.
10:46I think they'd be starting
10:46at the bottom 100%.
10:47Because you've seen
10:47how Artemis have done.
10:48And they've brought in
10:49a team of just like
10:51superheroes.
10:51They've put the Avengers
10:52together, so to speak.
10:53And even they,
10:54I mean,
10:55they could be on
10:55for a grand final,
10:56obviously,
10:56but it's been a rocky season.
10:58So imagine starting afresh.
10:59Absolutely, yeah.
11:00And the flight controller
11:02as a position
11:03is one of those ones
11:05that's very difficult
11:06to train for
11:07and replace people in.
11:09So if we did see
11:10the domino effect
11:12that we had last year
11:12with wing trimmers
11:13and Jensen moving,
11:15Bithel coming in
11:15with GBR
11:16and Pep,
11:18is it Pepinate?
11:19Yeah, Pepinate.
11:20With France.
11:22If you saw that
11:23in the flight control position,
11:24it would be very hard
11:25to fill those places,
11:27wouldn't it?
11:27And I've got a theory
11:28and this is just
11:30complete hearsay,
11:31but with the nationality rule
11:33there's another layer on it.
11:34So I'm looking at
11:34the flight controllers
11:35who aren't from
11:36the nationalities
11:37of their teams
11:39and going,
11:40they could be the ones
11:41that are on
11:41for a transfer
11:42because you don't want
11:43to lose people
11:44and then potentially
11:44have an issue
11:45with the nationality rule.
11:46No, no, no.
11:46I mean, like you mentioned
11:47again, Artemis,
11:48they struggle with that
11:49with their three main positions,
11:52driver, flight control
11:53and wing trim
11:54are all non-Swedes.
11:56David Gilmour's come
11:57and done an amazing job
11:58in both roles
12:00but, yeah,
12:01he's not Maloney or Draper.
12:02He's not had the time to be.
12:03How can you be?
12:04And so, yeah, I agree
12:05and, you know,
12:06you look at the USLGP team,
12:07they made some aggressive manoeuvres.
12:09They're very aggressively
12:10branded as All-American
12:11so it's hard to see them
12:13making many changes.
12:15They're sort of
12:15one of the few franchises
12:17that I actually feel
12:18has done quite a good job
12:19of getting a bit of depth
12:20to their roster.
12:21But, yeah, I mean,
12:23it's so interesting.
12:24What I want to know
12:25is I want the Instagram post
12:27that tells me
12:28what is Team 14
12:29and then who's
12:30the skipper of that,
12:32the CEO, skipper,
12:34whatever it is, driver
12:34and then once we get that
12:36then I think, yeah,
12:37we'll see the dominoes roll.
12:38But there's going to be
12:39definitely people
12:40that are disgruntled
12:41for sure.
12:42I mean, you hear that
12:43disgruntlement
12:43in the British team
12:44a little bit
12:45and I'm putting it all there,
12:46right?
12:46You know,
12:47that's because they're used
12:48to being at the top of the tree
12:49and they're not quite there
12:49at the moment
12:50but, you know,
12:51the Italian team.
12:52Yeah.
12:53You know,
12:53Carl Langford,
12:54three-time champion.
12:56Yeah.
12:57You know,
12:57and he's not,
12:58he's nowhere.
12:59I mean,
12:59he's made one final this year
13:00but then all the other ones
13:01they were scoring no points.
13:02Sure.
13:03So the Italians
13:03have been pretty underwhelmed.
13:05And he's tasted success
13:05so he's...
13:06Well, yeah,
13:07he was the definition
13:07of success.
13:08First three seasons in a row
13:09he won
13:10and then he was at another
13:11final,
13:11grand final with the Aussies
13:12so Kyle sat there.
13:14Yeah.
13:15You know,
13:15he's like,
13:15hang on a minute,
13:16I want a piece of that.
13:17Yeah.
13:18And it's hard
13:18because we don't know
13:19the contractual rules of it
13:21but one thing I have noticed
13:22from the teams
13:24that seem to be the best
13:26and obviously
13:27there's various dynamics
13:28that feed into it.
13:30One of the key ones
13:30is team cohesion
13:31and the people
13:33that haven't like,
13:33obviously Jensen joining
13:35Bond's Flying Roots
13:36has potentially fixed
13:37maybe an issue
13:37in the light winds
13:38or light air
13:39and they seem to just
13:40be unstoppable this season
13:41but a team like Los Gaios,
13:42they've been together a while
13:44and it's that team cohesion
13:45and knowing,
13:46everyone knowing their roles
13:47on the boat
13:47and their roles within the team
13:48off the water as well
13:49I think is super important
13:51for an effort.
13:51and they're a very interesting team
13:53you mentioned actually
13:54because they were a lot of,
13:56all right,
13:57Diego and Florian
13:58gold medals,
13:59Juan Coltona in there,
14:01he got Olympic bronze medal
14:02in the fin,
14:02you know,
14:02there's so much talent on there
14:04but like Joel Rodriguez,
14:05flight controller,
14:06you could argue
14:08he's,
14:09if not the best,
14:10he's definitely
14:11Waterhouse,
14:11Parco or him,
14:13you know,
14:14in that mix,
14:16what does his contract look like?
14:17You know,
14:18the interesting thing
14:20with the Spanish
14:20is mid-season,
14:22I'd have said,
14:23they're prime for the picking
14:24but their franchise
14:25has been bought this year,
14:27haven't they?
14:27They've actually managed
14:28to secure ownership,
14:29they're now privately owned,
14:30you've got to think
14:31there's that bit more money,
14:32especially with the prize money
14:33coming in,
14:33do you leave a team
14:34where you're guaranteed
14:36another 800 grand a year
14:38in prize money
14:39on top of your wages
14:40to go to another team?
14:42I mean,
14:42it's not all about the money,
14:44you want the success as well
14:45but equally,
14:47I would mind it.
14:48Yeah, exactly
14:49and it's just,
14:51it's going to be interesting
14:52to see how it all pans out
14:54with a new team
14:56joining the league
14:56alongside these elements
14:58because there's only other,
15:00I mean,
15:00we've had Brazil join
15:03as a team
15:03and all of the shifts
15:05that happen with that,
15:05we had Artemis join
15:06and all of the shifts
15:07and as you say,
15:08there's a limit now
15:10to how many teams
15:11you can have
15:11versus new talent.
15:13Where do you,
15:14which roles on board
15:15do you think
15:16are going to be the ones
15:17that are most up for grabs
15:18with new people
15:19coming through
15:19that Pensacola training base?
15:21Well,
15:22I mean,
15:22you've got to,
15:22I still,
15:23I still hold
15:24that the driver,
15:25the flight controller
15:26and the wing
15:26are the hardest.
15:27Yes.
15:28I think the interesting one
15:30and talking,
15:31I actually last week
15:32was lucky enough
15:33to be sailing a boat
15:35and my coach
15:35was Ben Durham,
15:37Bill from the Aussies.
15:38So I got chatting to him
15:40and it was interesting,
15:41you get that little bit
15:42that we perhaps don't hear
15:43on the broadcast as much
15:44because we can only have
15:45so many voices
15:46coming into the show,
15:47but the grinders,
15:49the G1,
15:49the G2,
15:50so in their boat,
15:52Sammy Newton,
15:53Kinley Fowler,
15:54you know,
15:54they've been there
15:55since the very beginning
15:56and they're kind of
15:56a gel and a cohesion
15:58and, you know,
15:59Sam Newton's instinct
16:01for when Ian Jensen's
16:02going to want the wing trimmed
16:03and, you know,
16:04he's a multiple world champion
16:06mainsail trimmer
16:07in an 18-foot skiff
16:08and lots of other boats,
16:09Sam,
16:10you know,
16:10so actually a lot
16:11of these positions
16:12that perhaps I tend
16:13to maybe undervalue
16:15a little bit by that,
16:17they can bring that knowledge
16:18and experience
16:19and again,
16:19someone like Kinley,
16:20you know,
16:21does he want to continue
16:22being a G2
16:23and perhaps undersung
16:25if you like?
16:27Would he actually think,
16:27well, hang on,
16:28you know,
16:28I could be a wing trimmer.
16:29I've been watching this
16:30and done this the whole time.
16:31I know exactly what to do.
16:32You don't see it on the telly
16:33but I do come and do it.
16:34I'll come in
16:35and I'll gel the team.
16:37You might see Ryan and Hugh
16:38in those positions next season.
16:39Yeah, absolutely.
16:40I mean,
16:40I'm still voting for myself
16:41ahead of Ryan and Hugh
16:43but I definitely couldn't afford
16:44to cover the bills.
16:45I don't think many people could.
16:47So one thing we've seen
16:48mid-season
16:49is Martini
16:50being or walking away
16:52or being let go,
16:53I'm not sure,
16:54from the Mubarra Brazil team
16:56and now we can look
16:57at those boats
16:58that perhaps
16:59and the teams
17:00that perhaps lower down
17:00the standings
17:01and think
17:01maybe there's some drivers here
17:03that might be being swapped out,
17:04might be changed,
17:06a little chop and change situation.
17:08Who should we be keeping an eye on
17:10and who do you think
17:11what teams
17:12I'm putting you on the hot seat there.
17:14You're on the driver hot seat.
17:15Some of these people are my friends.
17:16I know, yeah.
17:18Well,
17:18look at the results for Alex.
17:20I think,
17:21you know,
17:21ultimately
17:22and I think
17:24what's it called?
17:25It's called like
17:25a recency bias.
17:26Okay,
17:27so I have an inclination
17:28to think,
17:28oh,
17:28Italy,
17:29they were all right
17:30because they looked
17:31blimmin' good in Valencia,
17:32didn't they?
17:32They got to the final.
17:33They've actually not scored
17:34many points this year.
17:35You know,
17:36Phil,
17:37I love Phil
17:38in the league
17:39and he brings that
17:39but as you said,
17:40there's a chemistry,
17:41a cohesion.
17:41Maybe him and Kyle
17:43don't quite click.
17:44Yeah.
17:45Perhaps,
17:46you know,
17:46and perhaps that's done it
17:47but ultimately
17:48the results aren't
17:49what they'd want.
17:50Yeah.
17:50you know,
17:51we've heard interviews
17:53with Nikolai
17:53where I think,
17:54you know,
17:54they've got some
17:55top Danish talent
17:56coming in.
17:57Nikolai,
17:58again,
17:58has had a poor season
17:59but then the last three
18:01he's really pulled it around.
18:03Yeah.
18:03So I,
18:04you know,
18:04you've got to just look
18:05at the results
18:06and think who's not
18:07quite doing it.
18:08I mentioned Contan.
18:09It's all relative.
18:10Yeah, yeah.
18:10You know,
18:11Contan's season's
18:12not been what he wanted.
18:13Now,
18:13there's been an awful
18:13lot of misfortune in that
18:15but is it also,
18:16there's an awful lot
18:17of pressure from sponsors
18:18and backers
18:19and,
18:20you know,
18:20the sort of higher-ups
18:22in the team
18:22where they come in
18:23and there's not the emotional
18:25tie to Contan anymore.
18:26It's just,
18:26we want results.
18:27Yeah.
18:28So,
18:28I think I'd be looking at it
18:29from that point of view
18:31just purely on the results
18:32and who's not quite been
18:34but I think Phil,
18:35I think,
18:36less so Nikolai really
18:38because I feel like
18:38they've done a good
18:39turnaround in it
18:40but yeah,
18:41Contan I think in there,
18:43you know,
18:43I mean,
18:44it's crazy to say Dylan.
18:46I don't really think Dylan
18:47but there was a rumour
18:48that Ben Ainsley
18:48had redone his licence.
18:49Yeah,
18:50and Jimmy Spittel actually.
18:51Yeah.
18:52Might see the return.
18:52You know,
18:53perhaps they can't let it go
18:54but also I do think as well
18:55you've got to kind of
18:56get some young blood in
18:57so I don't think Dylan.
18:58Dylan's,
18:59you know,
18:59on fire really.
19:01They've had a few
19:01tricky events
19:02where they've got to
19:03find each other
19:03but you know,
19:05it's an interesting one.
19:06And we've talked about results
19:07and obviously
19:09down towards the bottom
19:10as well,
19:10they've had a lot of
19:11misfortune too
19:11as the black foils.
19:13What should they be looking at?
19:14And obviously
19:14it's very complicated
19:15with Pete being
19:16an owner-driver situation
19:17but yeah,
19:18how do you approach that one?
19:20Yeah,
19:20I think,
19:20well,
19:21it's a valid question.
19:22I mean,
19:22so they've had misfortune.
19:23I think they've made some mistakes
19:24early season
19:25to be honest
19:26and I'm sure Pete,
19:28you know,
19:28they've got the interesting thing
19:29where they were sailing
19:30the 49er all the time
19:31together him and Blair
19:32were sort of inseparable.
19:33They were like,
19:34wanted to say
19:35Batman and Robin
19:36but that makes
19:36Blair Robin
19:37which he probably
19:38wouldn't want to be
19:38in that situation
19:39but you know,
19:41I guess the pressure's
19:42on all of them.
19:43I know,
19:43I don't think anyone
19:44is un-move-on-able.
19:47Pete,
19:48yes,
19:48you say there's the pressure
19:49he's the CEO
19:50and the driver
19:51but there's also
19:52the motivation
19:52that you want your franchise
19:53to do well.
19:54So if Pete's looking at it
19:56and saying,
19:56I think there's someone else
19:57that could come in
19:58and do better,
19:59then maybe
20:00and perhaps the Middle East
20:02will be quite crucial
20:03for them
20:04in terms of
20:05they've not had a podium
20:06this season.
20:07Yep,
20:07especially in their track record.
20:08Occasionally they've missed
20:09half of this season
20:11but yeah,
20:12I don't think anyone
20:12is unconsiderable
20:15to get rid of.
20:16You know,
20:16at the moment
20:17you'd say Tom and Diego
20:18in terms of the drivers.
20:20Like if anyone's
20:21getting rid of them
20:21they're mad
20:22but for the rest of it
20:24who knows,
20:25up for grabs
20:25but I do think Pete
20:27is probably
20:28going to be in that seat
20:29next season.
20:30And conversely,
20:32I think two teams
20:33that have really
20:33kind of impressed me
20:35after a tricky start
20:37to the season
20:37is the Explorer Swiss team
20:39and North Star Canada
20:40both of whom
20:41I think have made
20:42huge strides
20:43in all sorts.
20:44Team cohesion,
20:45vibe,
20:46but also performance
20:47on the water.
20:47Yeah,
20:48I think so.
20:48I mean,
20:48I think North Star
20:50very much yin and yang.
20:51If there's wind
20:52they're very good.
20:52If it's light winds
20:53I've not seen that just yet.
20:55So they've got a clear target
20:56and this Middle East
20:57will be quite important
20:58for them.
20:58But yes,
20:59I think the team
20:59is moving in the right direction.
21:01So Giles is probably
21:03feeling pretty secure
21:04in the line-up there.
21:05Interesting with the Swiss,
21:06there are rumours
21:08that Arno Sarrafagas
21:10won't be there
21:11next season.
21:12It's a wing trimmer.
21:13And replaced by
21:13Arno De Planta.
21:14Yeah,
21:15which no offence
21:15to Arno De Planta
21:16but that's,
21:17I'd say,
21:18if your team's just
21:19starting to make momentum
21:20that's a strange call.
21:22Yeah,
21:22sure.
21:23Now they're going
21:24with the fact
21:24that Arno De Planta
21:25sails with
21:26Seb Schneider
21:27in the 49er
21:28and they're hoping
21:28you look at Diego,
21:30you're hoping you look
21:30at Pete and Blair,
21:32you know,
21:32Nathan and Gooby
21:33back in the first season.
21:35and that's an odd call
21:37for me
21:37if that is the case
21:39because Arno,
21:39you know,
21:40is quite a linchpin
21:41in there
21:41and they've got
21:41that experience
21:42and Arno De Planta
21:44who's going to be
21:45coming in from
21:45Grindr Up
21:46is going to have
21:46a lot to learn
21:47but yeah,
21:48sometimes you've
21:48maybe got to take
21:49a step back
21:50to take two forward.
21:51Sure.
21:52But yeah,
21:53Seb has had a good season.
21:54Seb's someone
21:55that's really benefited
21:56from going to groups.
21:57Yeah,
21:58sure.
21:58Bit more space
21:59on the racetrack,
22:00soups in.
22:00They managed to,
22:01I think,
22:02again,
22:02I think it might have
22:03been Halifax
22:03but they threw
22:04a foiling manoeuvre
22:04where no one else could
22:05and it just seemed
22:06like from then on
22:07the momentum's been
22:08gradually building
22:09in there
22:09to the point
22:10where they nearly won
22:10their home event
22:11in Geneva
22:12which would have
22:12been really cool
22:13but either way
22:15the transfer talk
22:17is rife
22:18here.
22:19It's rife in this room.
22:20It's rife everywhere
22:22around ZLGP
22:22at the moment
22:23with Team 14
22:24joining this year.
22:26It could create
22:26a domino effect
22:27we saw last season
22:28with the wing trimmers
22:29or things
22:30could just be
22:30status quo
22:31but that's rarely
22:32the case
22:32here at ZLGP.
22:34You better stay tuned
22:35to find out
22:35and we'll see you
22:36next time.
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