Artemis Sweden lead wire to wire as early penalties reshuffle the rest of Group B

Nathan Outteridge and Artemis Sweden led Group B's second race off Portsmouth from the first mark to the finish, extending their advantage to around 200 metres by the closing stages and cruising home in front of Chris Draper's wing trim work and 20,000 fans on the shore. Explorer Swiss recovered from an early boundary penalty to take second, and Taylor Canfield's US SailGP Team held off Germany's Deutsche Bank for third after a scrappy start.

A quick recap, Group B's first race had gone to the Americans, with Artemis second and Explorer Swiss third.

Three wide at the first mark

All six boats went hard at the start, with France's De La Pierre hitting 92km/h to grab the fastest speed on the course and take the outside line, going three wide with the fleet at Mark 1. Artemis had less distance to sail from the inside and used it to get to the front early, while the US team, starting further back in the pack, looked to make ground through the middle of the fleet.

Both Explorer Swiss and France were called for sailing outside the raceable area in the leg straight after the first mark, a shift that was expected to hand the Americans a big jump up the order once the penalties were absorbed.

A running battle for third

Artemis and Explorer Swiss settled into first and second, but the fight for third turned into a long-running scrap between the US team and Germany's Deutsche Bank, with the lead changing hands more than once through a string of right-of-way calls and yields between the two boats. Germany chose to follow the leaders rather than split away from the fleet at one point, a decision commentators questioned given it left them relying on someone else's mistake to find a way past.

Emirates GBR, the reigning champions from season five, had finished fourth in the first race and found themselves down in sixth early in this one, never able to work their way back into the fight.

By the closing legs the order was set: Artemis well clear in front, Explorer Swiss second, the US team edging out Germany for third, France fifth and Emirates GBR last.

The finish

Nathan Outteridge brought Artemis around the final gate with a comfortable lead and nothing left to threaten them, taking the win for Group B's second race of the day. Explorer Swiss, driven by Sebastian Snyder, held on for second, and Taylor Canfield's US team completed a solid recovery from a poor start to take third, one place ahead of the Germans.

Outteridge said afterwards the racing in Portsmouth had been excellent and that his crew were happy with how the day had gone.

Race 2 result, Group B

With four fleet races today and two more tomorrow before the top two from each group meet in the winner-take-all final, the result leaves France and Emirates GBR needing a big result in Group B's last race to stay in touch with the pace at the top.