SailGP: Australia seizes victory in neck-and-neck Dubai showdown

The Aussies stormed back after a disastrous eighth place finish on day one to snatch victory from France and Great Britain in a nail-biting fight to the finish.

The three-boat winner-takes-all Final went right to the wire, with a constantly reshuffling leaderboard seeing all three teams lead at moments throughout the race.

Despite an excellent start and leading for much of the race, France’s commanding position was snatched by Great Britain in the eleventh hour when all three boats converged at the fifth gate.

But a messy final jibe by the British crew opened the door to Australia, which streaked past both competitors to seal the win.

Despite losing the lead, France’s Quentin Delapierre took his opportunity and left Great Britain trailing in his wake, securing his second podium position in a row after triumphing in Cadiz.

The action-packed Final followed a dramatic bumper day of fleet racing. Denmark was forced to retire from the sixth and final fleet race, while New Zealand narrowly lost out on a place in the Final after incurring four penalty points for a collision with Switzerland.

Elsewhere, Jordi Xammar stunned his critics by sealing his first ever race win since taking over as Spanish driver in Season 2.

Competing on the waters of Port Rashid, the tightest racecourse in SailGP history, teams were treated to stable winds and flat water for picture-perfect foiling.

The refreshed leaderboard sees Australia extend its season lead to 60 points, ahead of Peter Burling’s New Zealand with 51 and France with 50. Ben Ainslie’s Great Britain remains in fourth with 48 points.

The Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas marks the final SailGP event of 2022. The nine-strong F50 fleet will next meet at the Singapore Sail Grand Prix on January 14 & 15.

Images and text courtesy of SailGP.