SailGP: Spain tops leaderboard on first day of New York as fickle conditions cause havoc

The Spanish rose to the top of the fleet across a reduced three fleet race schedule due to light and fickle conditions, which piled the pressure on executing solid starts.

And the Spanish did just this when the first race began, blasting over the line and leading at Mark 1, before converting their excellent start into a sizable lead over New Zealand in second place.

As the race wore on, Botin’s crew only extended its lead, crossing the line with a 14 second lead over the Kiwis in second, while ROCKWOOL DEN finished third.

The reduced three person crew configuration was increased to four for the second and third fleet races, with athletes swapping roles in an effort to be as adaptable as possible.

This time it was the BONDS Flying Roos, the United States and ROCKWOOL DEN which crossed the start line first, with all three drag racing to Mark 1.

A heart stopping moment unfolded at the second gate when the Australians narrowly avoided a collision with Mubadala Brazil. The team was swiftly penalized for not giving enough room at the mark but the penalty did little damage – the team stretched away to take the second race win, leaving the Brazilians to finish second – the first time the team has finished in the top three since Los Angeles.

ROCKWOOL DEN was once again at the front of the fleet when the third race began, crossing the line with New Zealand. But it was Peter Burling’s team which took the all-important inside line at Mark 1, stetching ahead to lap the entire F50 fleet – a SailGP first.

The rest of the fleet struggled amid dropping wind conditions, allowing the Kiwis to cross the finish line with a dominant 1.38 minute lead over the Danish in second and 6.14 minute lead over the Spanish in third.

When it came to the data, it was New Zealand which picked up the highest average fly time of 94.42%, while Spain had the highest average speed – 47 km/h. New Zealand also came top of the fleet for sailing the shortest average distance of 5.07 km/h, while ROCKWOOL DEN recorded the highest speed overall – 66.55 km/h.

Heading into day two, it’s the Spanish at the top of the leaderboard with 25 points, with ROCKWOOL DEN and France in second and third, tied on 20 points apiece.

It marks an impressive comeback for the Danish team, which missed the last two events due to significantly damaging its F50 in the opening race of Los Angeles.

There’s still everything to play for though – with New Zealand, Mubadala Brazil and BONDS Flying Roos all within reach of the podium when racing resumes on June 8.

Text and images courtesy of SailGP.com.