Black Foils grinder Louis Sinclair has undergone successful surgery on his right leg following a crash during SailGP Auckland yesterday.
The Black Foils and France boats crashed at high speed during the third race of the day on the Waitemāta Harbour, which caused the rest of Saturday's event to be abandoned.
Sinclair suffered compound fractures – when the broken bone comes through the skin – in both legs.
DS Team France strategist Manon Audinet was also injured in the crash, with the pair quickly taken off the F50 catamarans and taken to hospital.
"The medical team involved in Sinclair's treatment have been fantastic and are pleased with the results of the surgery and are positive about his ongoing recovery," the Black Foils said.
"Sinclair has the support of the family and teammates in Auckland and is doing well post is operation. He and the team wish to again thank all of the professionals involved in his care and treatment and to thank fans for their messages of support."
French athlete suffered abdominal injuries
DS Team France also issued an update on Audinet, stating that she was thrown forward in the collision, breaking the left-side steering wheel of the catamaran in the process.
She was being assessed for abdominal injuries caused by the impact, the team said.
“The entire DS Automobiles SailGP Team France has Manon Audinet and Louis Sinclair in their thoughts and stands fully alongside them during this time.”
A comprehensive review of yesterday's crash would be conducted alongside SailGP.
Moment New Zealand's Sail GP team involved in horror crash - Watch on TVNZ+
Split-fleet format for Sunday's racing
For day two of racing on Sunday, SailGP will implement a split-fleet racing format.
“The decision has been taken with stronger wind conditions forecast for Sunday – on the tight, stadium-style racetrack. Following Saturday’s on-water incident involving New Zealand and France, eleven F50s will compete on Sunday," a league statement said.
Each group would compete in two fleet races, with four fleet races all up. Points would be awarded within each group on a 5-4-3-2-1-0 scale.
The crash was New Zealand's second in as many events, with the Black Foils colliding with Switzerland at the season opener in Perth last month.
Amokura lost its stern and was unable to race again that weekend.
NZ driver Peter Burling was judged at fault for the Perth crash and became the first to incur demerit points under the newly introduced SailGP 'Super Licence' protocols.
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