SailGP: New Zealand guarantees Grand Final battle after beating Canada and Emirates GBR in New York

A blistering start saw all three teams jostle in a frantic drag race to Mark 1, but it was New Zealand which pushed Emirates GBR and Canada high and wide to secure the all-important inside line. The Kiwis went on to push their ride height to the limit, sailing faster and higher than both other teams.

Considered and flawless maneuvers by New Zealand saw the Kiwis stretch away, leaving Canada and Emirates GBR to battle it out for second and third respectively.

The triumph means the Kiwis have now won five of Season 4’s 12 events – almost half of the entire season.

Speaking after racing, driver Peter Burling said it was ‘awesome to get another win on the board’, especially due to the tricky conditions which turned racing into a game of ‘snakes and ladders’.

Looking ahead, Burling said the team will be ‘looking to win San Francisco’s fleet racing for sure’ and said their New York win had ‘given [them] confidence’.

The refreshed Season 4 leaderboard sees New Zealand top with 93 points – guaranteeing its place in next month’s three-boat, season-defining Grand Final in San Francisco.

Elsewhere, Australia – which finished 4th in New York with a mixed 3-6-9-1 results – has reclaimed 2nd in the Season 4 leaderboard with 78 points – two ahead of Spain in third with 76.

It was another tricky day for Taylor Canfield’s United States team, which picked a 10-10-10-9 race record across the weekend and finished last for the third consecutive event. This was despite Germany starting the event on -4 points.

It was a disastrous event for ROCKWOOL DEN too, which finished 8th in New York, dropping them down the Season 4 leaderboard to sixth behind Canada.

Australia meanwhile experienced technical problems for the fifth event in a row, resulting in the team narrowly missing out on a place in the Final despite winning the last fleet race.

“It’s been a tough weekend again,” driver Tom Slingsby said. “I understand the Grand Final is important but we’re trying to get our technical issues and our boat sorted so we can get some confidence heading into San Francisco.”

Next up, SailGP returns to San Francisco for the Season 4-defining, $2 million Grand Final in San Francisco on July 13-14.

Text and images courtesy of SailGP.com.