Black Foils boss Peter Burling first to earn SailGP demerit points for Perth scrape with Swiss
New Zealand SailGP
4pm Saturday, 14 February & Sunday, 15 February
Wynyard Point, Auckland
Live updates on RNZ
Black Foils driver Peter Burling has found himself on the wrong side of history, after the incident that sidelined his SailGP boat at Perth last month.
Early in the opening race of the new season, New Zealand and Switzerland collided at high speed, with the Swiss shearing the transom off ‘Amokura’.
While the Europeans were able to repair their F50 cataraman overnight and return to the water for the second day of competition, the Kiwis were consigned to their sheds, copping the blame for the melee and earning penalty points for causing it.
They finished the weekend with no championship points and faced a nervous process to bring their boat to full integrity before this weekend’s home event at Auckland’s Wynyard Point.
The punishment took on an even more personal note for Burling, when he became the first recipient of demerit points under the league’s new ‘Super Licence’ for drivers, similar to Formula One motor-racing requirements.
Black Foils driver Peter Burling at the New Zealand SailGP media conference.
Photo: Marika Khabazi/RNZ
“I seem to have become the first driver with the ‘honour’ of getting demerit points on my license,” he told the official media conference. “It’s a whole new thing and I’m not even sure how many I can get in a season – I should probably work that out at some stage.
“Got the email the other day – all part of the fun.”
Burling revealed to RNZ he received three demerit points, but bore no grudges.
“To me, the demerit points and the new licensing system that SailGP has put in is a real sign of maturity in the league. It’s a really cool step to see the league putting protocols in, so people have to go through a process to get on the F50 and be responsible for one of the roles onboard.
Black Foils boat ‘Amokura’ is launched for testing before New Zealand SailGP at Auckland’s Wynyard Point.
Photo: Marika Khabazi/RNZ
“Everyone has to pass a minimum standard in terms of their knowledge of the boat, knowledge of how the league operates… to be responsible for that role. It’s a good step for the league and also holding people accountable with its demerit points.
“Everyone’s going to have the odd crash. If you’re not bringing the boats close together, you’re not really racing.”
Burling still didn’t agree with the decision to penalise his team, but organisers seemed happy to play up the actual or perceived rivalry between the Kiwis and the Swiss.
“On the water, we got deemed that we didn’t turn quick enough, which – for me – is in the grey zone, if you look back at a lot of other incidents,” he said. “That’s the umpire’s call.
“In sailing, there’s Rule 14 as well, which is, if you can avoid a collision, you should. For me, at some stage, you can’t just disappear and I feel like there were two parties to the incident.
“That’s all in the past now, we’ve got to live by the decision and move forward.”
At the media conference, Burling was seated at the far end of the couch to Swiss counterpart Seb Schneiter, a detail that didn’t escape the attention of NZ-born Italy driver Phil Robertson.
“Why have you sat them so far apart?” Robertson chirped.
“We obviously spoke in the protest and a little bit after sailing,” Schneiter explained. “We had a birthday party last weekend and Pete was on the invite list, but he didn’t make it unfortunately.
“I think it’s part of the nature of racing these boats at such high speeds. It’s going to happen and, as Pete said, we have to learn as a league.
“No-one wants the boats to come together. Either you’re right or wrong, and there’s certainly a lot to learn from this.”
Burling was quick to explain his absence: “Just to set the story straight, last weekend, the weather was a bit nice down at Coromandel, so we decided with the family to stay there and not make the trip back to Auckland.”
He explained to RNZ that the Black Foils had history with the Swiss, who also clipped Amokura during a start at Abu Dhabi last November.
“Why have you sat them so far apart?” Peter Burling (extreme right) address the media conference, with Swiss counterpart Seb Schneiter (extreme left).
Photo: Marika Khabazi/RNZ
“That’s two from two events they’ve hit that corner of the boat,” Burling chuckled. “Hopefully, we can keep apart this weekend and, hopefully as a league, we can learn from the incidents.
“The incident we had you probably see 5-10 times a weekend, where people make a tiny mistake on the timing and other boats help alleviate the problem, in terms of two boats not coming together, and both get to carry and race.
“Hopefully, the Swiss learn from that.”
Ironically, New Zealand have gained one tiny benefit from their misfortune.
With a weather bomb hovering over the North Island on Friday, SailGP teams lost their only official practice day in Auckland.
The only boats allowed on the water were the home team, Spain and Germany, which had all undergone major modifications since Perth and needed to test out repairs, before racing began on Saturday.
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