Race 3 on the first day of Auckland SailGP was the moment that reshaped the entire weekend.
DS Automobiles France, skippered by Quentin Delapierre, and New Zealand's Black Foils, helmed by Peter Burling, were separated by a single point when they came together on the water. New Zealand held 18 points to France's 17. The collision changed both campaigns immediately: New Zealand received an eight-point penalty and dropped to 10 points, while France kept their 17. Both F50s sustained damage significant enough to end their regattas on the spot.
Racing on Day 1 was halted, and organisers restructured Day 2 into two fleet races, producing four races in total, before a winner-takes-all Final that Australia claimed. DS Automobiles France and the Black Foils watched from shore.
Since the event, SailGP Technologies has been working to salvage usable components from both damaged vessels, combining parts from the two wrecks into a single working F50. That process is ongoing and is expected to continue for some time yet.
Speaking exclusively from Sydney, Delapierre offers a candid account of what the collision felt and looked like from inside the boat.
"The impact was huge and we never experienced that magnitude of impact. It's the very first one with that violence."
He returns to the speed of it more than once.
"Looking at the crash itself, it just happened in less than a second. As soon as the Kiwi boat went up and the crash happened, everything happened in less than a second. The two boats were super close before the incident."
He tried to react, he says, but the physical space simply wasn't there.
“I tried as much as I could to reduce the damage, but honestly, it was just impossible to avoid the contact.”
Delapierre's account carries no accusation. He frames the incident as misfortune shared equally by both teams.
"It's just unfortunate for the Kiwi boat and for the French boat. We're just super lucky that the injured athletes are okay today."
France strategist Manon Audinet was the crew member who required hospital treatment. Delapierre is straightforward about her recovery.
"Manon left the hospital last week. She's fine, and she's ready to come back on the water. No major injuries."
He speaks about her character as readily as her physical condition.
"I've known her for a while, and she's a tough athlete. I'm pretty sure she's already focused on the next steps. I don't think she's hurt mentally by the crash."
The team, despite that confidence in her resilience, still chose to take a measured approach.
“Just to make sure, the team organised some psychologist sessions, just to take care of Manon and make sure she’s moving on.”
The Auckland collision has brought safety discussions back into focus across the league. Delapierre pushes back against any suggestion that standards were lacking.
"I'm not saying that the safety was not there. It's the opposite. SailGP is the safest sailing league in the world in my opinion. The safety process we had that day on the water was very professional."
He acknowledges that a young competition continues to evolve.
"SailGP is moving super fast, only six seasons. We put together some groups to make sure the safety will increase and we find new solutions."
On the question of repairs, Delapierre is clear that responsibility sits with the league rather than the individual teams.
"Regarding the boat repair, the French team is not in charge. It's the responsibility of SailGP and we are supporting them. We give them all our trust."
No confirmed timeline has been established for when either the DS Automobiles France or New Zealand Black Foils F50 will return to the water.
"For the moment, we cannot confirm the next GP we will be able to race. It's not under our control."
Missing Sydney is a blow he does not try to minimise, admitting it "is of course not the perfect world for us," before offering a broader view.
“SailGP is never the perfect world. Every team will have problems or issues. We experienced ours now. We will regroup.”
He will not simply stay away, however. Delapierre intends to be present at the Sydney event in a different capacity.
"I will not attend as a spectator. I will be in the coach booth with my coaches, trying to improve our processes between the coach booth and the athletes, making sure they are sharper in the next ones."
As for his own mental state, he describes it as settled.
"This incident will not change my mind or my focus in the next GP. I'm still really focused on the competition. I'm lucky I'm not mentally hurt. I just want to go back on the water and have a nice experience with my teammates, nice victories. We don't have to spend too much time on the past or make it too dramatic."
Auckland will remain the defining story of this point in the SailGP season, the collision between DS Automobiles France and the Black Foils having altered the standings and sidelined two of the championship's leading teams. For Delapierre, it is one chapter in a longer contest, and his focus, he says, has not shifted from what comes next.
