Six fleet races, three different winners in each group, and the two form teams of the day now sit clear at the top heading into Sunday's final push for the four boat final. New Zealand's Black Foils lead Group A on 11 points, one clear of Northstar Canada, while Artemis Sweden top Group B on 13, two ahead of the US SailGP Team.
Group A: Black Foils finish the day the way they mean to go on
Northstar Canada opened the day with the win, Los Gallos Spain took race two in a photo finish, and the Black Foils capped it off with a start to finish demolition in race three.
Race 1: Northstar Canada, Los Gallos Spain, Red Bull Italy, Black Foils, Bonds Flying Roos, Mubadala Brazil, Rockwell Racing Denmark
Race 2: Los Gallos Spain, Black Foils, Bonds Flying Roos, Red Bull Italy, Northstar Canada, Rockwell Racing Denmark, Mubadala Brazil
Race 3: Black Foils, Northstar Canada, Bonds Flying Roos, Rockwell Racing Denmark, Red Bull Italy, Los Gallos Spain, Mubadala Brazil
Group A standings after day one:
| Group A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Black Foils New Zealand |
Peter Burling | 11 PTS |
| 2 | NorthStar Canada |
Giles Scott | 10 PTS |
| 3 | Los Gallos Spain |
Diego Botin | 9 PTS |
| 4 | BONDS Flying Roos Australia |
Tom Slingsby | 7 PTS |
| 5 | Red Bull Italy Italy |
Phil Robertson | 6 PTS |
| 6 | ROCKWOOL Racing Denmark |
Nicolai Sehested | 2 PTS |
| 7 | Mubadala Brazil Brazil |
Martine Grael | 0 PTS |
New Zealand and Canada have qualified for tomorrow's final as at today. This may change after tomorrow's fleet races.
Burling's crew improved in every single race of the day, going from fourth to second to the win, and it's set up a genuine fight with Northstar Canada for top spot heading into tomorrow. As things stand, those two would qualify for Super Sunday's final, with Los Gallos Spain and Bonds Flying Roos Australia needing a big two races to force their way in.
Group B: three different winners, and a home crowd goes wild late
The US SailGP Team won the opener, Artemis Sweden dominated race two, and Emirates GBR salvaged their day with victory in the last race, aided by a near-disaster for Germany that handed them the lead they never gave back.
Race 1: US SailGP Team, Artemis Sweden, Explorer Swiss, Emirates GBR, DS Automobiles France, Germany Deutsche Bank
Race 2: Artemis Sweden, Explorer Swiss, US SailGP Team, Germany Deutsche Bank, DS Automobiles France, Emirates GBR
Race 3: Emirates GBR, Artemis Sweden, US SailGP Team, Explorer Swiss, DS Automobiles France, Germany Deutsche Bank
Group B standings after day one:
| Group B | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Artemis | Nathan Outteridge | 13 PTS |
| 2 | U.S. SailGP Team United States |
Taylor Canfield | 11 PTS |
| 3 | Explora Journeys Swiss Switzerland |
Sébastien Schneiter | 9 PTS |
| 4 | Emirates GBR Great Britain |
Dylan Fletcher | 7 PTS |
| 5 | DS Automobiles FRA France |
Quentin Delapierre | 3 PTS |
| 6 | Germany by Deutsche Bank Germany |
Erik Kosegarten-Heil | 2 PTS |
Artemis and USA have qualified for tomorrow's final as at today. This may change after tomorrow's fleet races.
Artemis were the standout, finishing on the podium in all three races today, while Explorer Swiss quietly put together a solid day despite an early penalty. Emirates GBR's win in the last race of the day was exactly what the home crowd wanted, but as things stand it's Sweden and the US who occupy the two qualifying spots, with GBR and Switzerland both needing more from tomorrow's two remaining fleet races.
What's left to play for
Both groups have two more fleet races tomorrow before the top two from each advance to the winner take all four boat final on Super Sunday. Right now that would mean an all New Zealand-Canada decider from Group A and an all Sweden-US decider from Group B, but with four spots still to be locked in and a full day of racing to come, nothing is settled yet.
