Slammed into violently by the Australians during the final race on the first day of racing, Groupama 40 wasn't in a position to race today.
Credit : Lloyd Images
"The damage was very serious. The whole team set to work to effect repairs but despite our best efforts, we weren't ready to race at the allotted time. We have just been able to take her out for a technical test sail to ensure that all the systems are in working order," explained Louis Viat, coordinator of Groupama sailing team in Cardiff.
As such, Groupama 40 will be back on the racetrack on Sunday, where she will be competing with her ten rivals once more.
In her capacity of `infringed yacht', which essentially means that she was collided into whilst she had priority, Groupama 40 will later be awarded the average number of points for the 12 races not contested today, a figure gleaned from the first 7 races and the ten or so due to be raced on Sunday.
Suffice to say that Franck Cammas and his crew won't be able to make a single mistake if they are to stand a chance of ranking well on a leaderboard, which today sees the Swiss team of Alinghi out front, ahead of The Wave Muscat and BAR.
More news about the crash here
From Groupama
