Black Foils grinder Sinclair suffers breaks to both legs

Following the catastrophic collision between New Zealand and France during Saturday’s SailGP racing on a gusty and unpredictable Auckland Harbour, the New Zealand team has published this statement on Saturday evening:

“Black Foils grinder Louis Sinclair is in a stable condition in Auckland Hospital after suffering injuries to both legs during the collision with the French during racing today. 

“Sinclair is receiving treatment for compound fractures to both legs but is in a stable condition. 

“Thank you for all of the messages of support since the incident. Special thank you to all of the medical staff involved in the response to the crash and subsequent treatment of all the athletes involved.”

The French team put out a statement saying the strategist Manon Audinet was taken to hospital following the crash. 

“During the third race of the day, an incident occurred between the New Zealand team and the DS Automobiles SailGP Team France. The Black Foils were positioned to windward and initiated a very close crossing ahead of the French boat. Their F50 was flying at high speed when a loss of control at rudder level caused a sudden rotation of the boat, which turned perpendicular to the trajectory of the French entry. 

“Despite an immediate reaction from the DS Automobiles SailGP Team France driver, the collision could not be avoided. At the moment of impact, Manon Audinet, positioned leeward while preparing for a gybe, was violently thrown forward inside her cockpit, resulting in the breakage of the F50 steering wheel.

“She was immediately attended to by the SailGP medical team before being transported to Auckland Hospital for further examinations. These assessments are intended to rule out any major injury, particularly in the abdominal area, which was the most exposed during the impact. She is currently being kept under observation.”

Today’s incident follows on from the injuries suffered by other teams during the training days leading up to the Perth Grand Prix four weeks ago. 

While wing trimmer Chris Draper made a quick recovery from the injury to his face after getting bounced across the sharp netting of the Artemis SailGP trampoline, Australia’s wing trimmer Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen is still out of action after damaging his knee in Perth.

There has already been talk about introducing some kind of protective ‘halo’ to the F50s, such as was brought into Formula 1 motor racing in 2018. After today’s collision, discussions about increasing crew protection will surely be moved higher up the agenda.