France SailGP Injury Report: Audinet Returns as Team Navigates Ashby and McMillan Absences

As the global SailGP fleet prepares for the upcoming Portsmouth Grand Prix in late July, DS Automobiles Team France is navigating an unprecedented string of roster changes. The French squad has been forced to constantly adapt its lineup after severe injuries sidelined two of its primary wing trimmers in a matter of months. Despite these significant setbacks, the team has managed to maintain its standing in the Season 6 championship, relying on cross-team athlete loans and the resilience of its returning crew members. The ability to stay competitive while rotating crucial personnel has become a defining storyline of their campaign.[1][2]

The most uplifting development for the French team has been the successful return of strategist Manon Audinet. Audinet spent two weeks under medical observation following a catastrophic high-speed collision with the New Zealand Black Foils in Auckland this past February. The impact violently threw her forward, breaking the steering wheel and causing severe abdominal trauma. After missing multiple events to focus on her recovery, she made a triumphant return to her pivotal role in the strategist's seat during the recent Halifax Grand Prix. Her presence on the boat provided a much-needed morale boost for driver Quentin Delapierre and the rest of the crew.[3][5]

However, the team's wing trimmer position remains a revolving door of medical rehabilitation. Leigh McMillan, the team's starting wing trimmer, is still recovering from the same Auckland crash that injured Audinet. McMillan suffered a traumatic tear to his supraspinatus and scapularis tendons when the impact violently threw him across the cockpit, completely detaching the tendons from the bone. Following complex reconstructive shoulder surgery, he faces a rigorous, multi-month rehabilitation process before he can safely return to the extreme physical demands of managing the F50 catamaran's massive rigid wingsail.[4]

To cover McMillan's prolonged absence, the French team recruited Australian sailing legend and America's Cup veteran Glenn Ashby. The partnership was meant to stabilize the boat's flight control, but disaster struck again during the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix in May. While crossing the mesh trampoline between the hulls prior to the second race, Ashby slipped and suffered a severe double tibia-fibula fracture in his leg. The freak accident immediately ruled him out for the remainder of the season, leaving the French team scrambling to find a replacement while still on the water.[1][2]

The immediate on-field impact of Ashby's injury was severe and immediate. France was forced to retire from the second and third fleet races in Bermuda while medical staff attended to the veteran sailor and transported him ashore. Yet, in a remarkable display of league-wide sportsmanship, rival teams stepped up to keep the French boat racing. The Australian Flying Roos loaned their reserve athlete, Tom Needham, to France for the fourth race. This unprecedented collaboration allowed Delapierre to keep his team in the competition and salvage crucial championship points.[1][3]

The collaborative effort continued the following day when Artemis Racing loaned their young reserve, David Gilmour, to fill the highly technical wing trimmer role for Super Sunday. Adapting to a new team's internal communication, language, and specific boat settings overnight is a monumental task in SailGP, where the wing trimmer acts as the flight metronome. Despite the complete lack of practice time together, Gilmour helped the French secure two podium finishes in the remaining heats, an extraordinary feat that kept them in fifth place in the overall championship standings.[2][3]

Team manager Philippe Presti praised the crew's refusal to fold under the mounting pressure. 'What the team showed was pretty incredible,' Presti noted following the Bermuda event. 'After Glenn's injury, it would have been easy to put our heads down, but there was a real collective will to get back up and not give up.' Driver Quentin Delapierre echoed the sentiment, emphasizing that the team is focused entirely on finding solutions and looking forward, rather than dwelling on the misfortune that has plagued their season.[1][2]

Looking ahead to the European leg, France has tapped World Moth Champion Enzo Balanger to take over the wing trimmer duties as McMillan continues his long-term rehab. The constant roster shuffling highlights the extreme physical toll of modern foiling circuits, where athletes operate at speeds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour and forces are immense. As the fleet heads to Portsmouth, the French team's ability to absorb catastrophic injuries, integrate new talent on the fly, and remain highly competitive stands as a testament to their deep resilience.[2][3][4]