Grant Dalton
| Grant Dalton | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1 July 1957 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation | professional sailor |
Grant Stanley Dalton, OBE (born 1 July 1957), is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in five Whitbread Round the World Races and currently manages Team New Zealand.
Background
Dalton is a professional sailor who started sailing at the age 8 in the P Class and soon started racing as a member of Maraetai Sailing Club. He was awarded an OBE in the 1995 New Year Honours, for services to yachting.[1] He was shortlisted in 2001 by the International Sailing Federation for the ISAF World Sailor of the Year Awards.
His other passion away from sailing is motor racing; as an avid F1 fan and with life with Emirates Team New Zealand more settled than a round-the-world campaign, he can now race on the New Zealand motor racing circuit.
Sailing career
Offshore Racing
Grant Dalton has raced around the world seven times; the first five as part of the Whitbread Round the World Race later to be called the Volvo Ocean Race. This race has transformed itself during Grant's involvement from a race of adventurers to a grand prix yachting event. Here is a list of his participation
- 1981-82 Whitbread in Flyer II
- 1983 Southern Cross Cup
- 1985 Admiral's Cup
- 1985-86 Whitbread in Lion New Zealand
- 1987 Admiral's Cup
- 1989-90 Whitbread in Fisher & Paykel a Maxi Ketch designed by Farr Yacht Design
- 1991 Fastnet
- 1993-94 New Zealand Endeavour
- 1997-98 Merit Cup - Volvo Ocean 60
- 2001-02 Amer Sports One - Volvo Ocean 60 designed by German Frers
He then skippered and won the The Race, a sprint around the world on maxi catamaran Club Med. The race started on 1 January 2001 and finished on 3 March. Club Med broke several records along the way including the distance sailed in 24 hours (656 nautical miles) and the fastest circumnavigation (62 days and 7 hours).
America's Cup
He was called in to restructure and revitalise Team New Zealand after its loss of the America’s Cup in February 2003.
Motorcycle Road Racing career
Manx GP & Classic TT
In 2014, at 57 years old, Grant entered the Manx Grand Prix as a newcomer, and also the F1 Classic TT, saying ‘I’ve done seven laps around the world and a few America’s Cups, but this is the most extreme thing I’ve ever done.’ [2]
Dalton's 2014 Classic TT could perhaps best be described as a baptism of fire, given his lack of relevant experience; his best lap in qualifying in 2014 on his F1 Suzuki was 'just' 87.799 mph [3] and he did not finish the Classic F1 TT, which was won by fellow Kiwi Bruce Anstey at a race average speed of 121.597 mph, but he was back in 2015 and this time qualified for the F1 TT with a lap of 100.047 mph.[4] He gained a coveted finishers medal for the 2015 Classic F1 TT, with an overall race average speed for the four laps, which includes the time spent stationary in the pits for a gravity-fed refuelling stop, of 97.047 mph.[5]
References
- ↑ London Gazette (supplement), No. 53894, 30 December 1994. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ↑ IOM Today 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- ↑ Classic TT Friday Qualifying Times Bikesport News
- ↑ 2015 F1 TT Qualifying - Fastest Laps iomtt.com
- ↑ 2015 F1 Classic TT Results iomtt.com