There was no magic return for the Great Britain SailGP Team on the second day of the New York SailGP event on Saturday.
Third and fourth places in the two final fleet races gave them back some confidence, but they finished bottom of the table for the New York event, following their capsize on the first day.
“It’s been a disappointing weekend all in all for us – we learned a lot from our capsize yesterday, and I’m proud as a team of how we came back after that setback,” said helmsman Dylan Fletcher.
Overall winners were the Japan SailGP Team – helmed by double Olympic medalist Nathan Outteridge – who beat off strong competition from Tom Slingsby’s Australia SailGP Team to win their first event of the inaugural SailGP season.
The 4 point New York win puts the Japan SailGP Team 1 point ahead of Australia SailGP and 34 points clear of Great Britain SailGP in third place after three events.
In the first race (R4) Saturday Japan SailGP Team took victory ahead of Australia with Great Britain in third place.
In the final fleet race (R5) the United States SailGP Team, led by Rome Kirby, crossed the finish line first, scoring their first ever SailGP win. Japan were second and Australia third, and Great Britain fourth.
Australia and Japan then sailed an intense final match race on the Hudson River racecourse, which saw drama before the start as the two high-powered F50s made contact.
A penalty to Australia saw Japan eventually get the better of the season’s leaders and take the victory in New York.
SailGP’s next stop is Cowes, UK, over the weekend of August 10-11, when the home of British sailing will be able to witness the intense racing and awe-inspiring speeds of the F50s.
New York SailGP Results
1 – Japan – 49pts
2 – Australia – 45pts
3 – United States – 37pts
4 – China – 33pts
5 – France – 32pts
6 – Great Britain – 27pts
Season 1 Leaderboard (after three events)
1 – Japan – 140 pts
2 – Australia – 139 pts
3 – Great Britain – 106 pts
4 – United States – 105 pts
5 – China – 93 pts
5 – France – 93 pts