Liv Mackay will take over at the helm for the Black Foils in tonight’s practice session ahead of the grand final in Abu Dhabi after an injury to Peter Burling.
The Black Foils’ driver suffered an injury to his right index finger during yesterday’s practice after investigating an equipmentissue on the team’s F50 catamaran, Amokura.
The 34-year-old’s finger was cut and he was taken to a local medical centre where he was assessed and received treatment to repair the injury. Burling had been looking at a misfiring daggerboard at the time of the incident, and did not suffer a break.
It was the first of three practice sessions ahead of this weekend’s grand final in the Middle East, which is one more than the fleet usually gets during a race week.
The Black Foils went into the week poised to compete in their third grand final shootout in as many years, sitting second on the leaderboard ahead of the final event.
Strategist Liv Mackay will drive for the Black Foils in tonight's practice session. Photo / Ricardo Pinto, SailGP
While the Abu Dhabi event ends with the top three teams from the season contesting one final race for the US$2 million prize, it is also the final regatta of the season.
Rather than having an event final, the regatta winner is found from fleet racing alone. Throughout the season, the number of fleet races at an event have differed depending on conditions, with as many as seven races behind held if the breeze allows.
The Black Foils have a strong history sailing in the Middle East. Of the four regattas held in the region in SailGP, the New Zealand crew have won three of them - including last year’s event in Abu Dhabi.
This is the first year the city has held the grand final, with the first four editions being decided in San Francisco.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
