“There’s way more in the tank.”

That’s the tantalising verdict from ROCKWOOL Racing driver Nicolai Sehested, who believes SailGP’s all-time speed record could be smashed this weekend’s ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix in Sassnitz.

Sehested and his Danish team set the existing record at the same venue last season, hitting an astonishing 103.93km/h during a blistering run in the opening race.

Now, with Sassnitz again forecast to deliver strong winds, Sehested believes 105km/h is within reach.

“It’s not something we actually chased hard,” he said. “I know it’s something we get asked a lot when we get here to Sassnitz, but to be honest, we focused more on getting some points.
“But if the opportunity lines up, you can take it.”

Breaking the record is anything but straightforward. The right combination of wind, angle, timing and boat speed all needs to come together, with the fastest runs typically coming in a narrow window of opportunity.

“It needs to be a good window,” Sehested explained. “You have to do it in the right way at the first mark, it has to be a good puff, and you have to come from a wide angle from the top of the line. All things have to line up to get it.”

But having already pushed the F50 beyond 100km/h during training in Sassnitz over the past few days, Sehested knows exactly what the boat is capable of.

“If things line up, you can easily get that,” he said. “There was way more in the tank. It’s still in these boats, and it’s just a matter of time before we break 105 kilometres an hour.”

The comments come after ROCKWOOL Racing provided a reminder of just how unforgiving high-speed sailing can be, with the team suffering a dramatic near-capsize during training earlier this week.

Sehested said the incident came while the team was experimenting with new crew configurations and was simply a case of getting a turn wrong.

The driver confirmed he is fit to race despite suffering some bumps and bruises, and insists the team is ready to push again when racing gets underway.

“We’re in race configuration today and we’ll be pushing hard,” he said.

With the current record standing at 103.93km/h, the target is clear: 105km/h. And according to Sehested, the F50 has plenty more speed waiting to be unlocked.