SailGP: New Zealand take day one lead ahead of Canada and Great Britain in Christchurch
New Zealand excites the home fans at SailGP in Christchurch as they take the lead on day one ahead of Canada and Great Britain with championship leaders Australia trailing behind.
- New Zealand led Saturday’s standings with 28 points after a strong performance.
- They delighted their home fans with a commanding victory in the second of three races.
- Canada, Great Britain and France look set to battle for podium spots.
New Zealand delighted their home fans with a race win and two second places as the pressure mounted on SailGP championship leaders Australia in their home waters.
The 3,000 New Zealand fans on the shore at Lyttelton cheered as Peter Burling guided his boat to a dominating victory in the second of three regattas on Saturday.
That came after New Zealand fought their way to finish behind France in race one and showed impressive consistency to take second to Canada in race three.
Great Britain remained in the hunt for a podium finish with two third and one fourth places, but it was a disappointing afternoon for Australia.
Championship leaders Tom Slingsby were overtaken by Great Britain in the first race and finished a distant second behind rival boat Kiwi after a tactical error executing a turn early on.
New Zealand tops the standings after day one of the SailGP regatta in Christchurch
Ben Ainslie and his team kept Great Britain in contention for podium places after day one.
And the Aussies weren’t even in the hunt in race three, having to settle for fifth overall going into Sunday’s two fleet races, with only the top three making it to the final.
New Zealand led Saturday’s standings with 28 points, Canada with 24 and Great Britain with 23.
France, who posted four straight wins after their impressive performance in Sydney last time out, finished fourth on 21 points after their hot streak petered out.
The action in Christchurch was delayed by 40 minutes because dolphins were seen in the field, but despite being out for a long time, the French boat captained by Quentin Delapierre got off to a blistering start.
They had won all three races on day one in Sydney before day two was canceled due to gale force winds and they had four in a row leading most of the race.
It was a disappointing day for championship leaders Australia as they finished fifth.
New Zealand sat sixth at one point but came back to take second with Britain’s Ben Ainslie and his team performing solidly to hold off Australia for third place.
The second race went to New Zealand as soon as Australia slipped executing a spin, a mistake that drew a standing ovation from the partisan home crowd.
Great Britain recovered from early difficulty which saw them briefly occupy the rear of the field to finish fourth behind Canada.
That Canadian promise was confirmed in the third race when skipper Phil Robertson, himself a Kiwi, showed a mastery of the gusty conditions to take a victory that propelled them up the standings.
Positions after the first day: 1. New Zealand (28pts); 2. Canada (24 points); 3. Great Britain (23pts); 4. France (21 points); 5. Australia (18 points); 6. United States (16pts); 7. Switzerland (14 points); 8. Denmark (10 points); 9. Spain (8pts).