Malta, Valetta – 6th - 8th June

Pilot James Sheppard praised his team for avoiding a last-minute hitch that could have eliminated the boat from the event before it even got started.

The British-based reigning Evolution class champion team had their worst weekend of the year so far in Malta after dominating the field in Italy and France. They finished fourth in Saturday's Sprint and second in Sunday's Endurance race, but still lead the championship by 90 points over the Malta Grand Prix of the Sea-winning #88 Kiton Outerlimits team.

“It was really very rough out there, but the team did a great job, especially as we had a dead battery, which they picked up just 45 minutes before the race,” Sheppard said. “As we've only got the one battery, it's obviously pretty important, but there was a huge team effort to get us sorted 10 minutes before the start of the race.

“We suspected that the #88 Kiton Outerlimits boat might have jumped the start, and we realised we couldn't catch them and pass them in the nine laps of the race, so we just stayed one minute behind them knowing that there was a chance they'd pick up a two-minute penalty.”

Malta Race Gallery

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