Peter Burling's Black Foils NZ have won Group A's first race of Super Sunday, leading from Mark 1 to the finish on a Baltic course that swung through a wind shift severe enough to send boats sailing almost straight down the track. The win all but locks in New Zealand's place in Sunday's four-boat final. Behind them, DS Team France's early move out toward the boundary put them in bad air and dropped them out of the podium places, and Los Gallos Spain used the gap it opened to climb from mid-fleet into second.
Flight controller Leo Takahashi had the Black Foils foiling at over 90km/h off the line, and Burling's crew built on that lead at every mark. France sat second early, but a move out toward the boundary on the next leg put them in disturbed air and dropped them from second to fifth in a single leg. Mubadala Brazil, despite a penalty picked up early in the race, held third for a stretch before the fleet reshuffled behind New Zealand.
From there New Zealand extended. A left-hand shift filled in with pressure and let Burling sail close to straight up the course with minimal manoeuvres, and nobody behind them could close the gap. Rockwool Denmark held second for the middle of the race, with France back in third and Switzerland fourth, while Los Gallos Spain worked their way forward from the back of the fleet. By the fourth gate Spain had climbed to second, only 13 seconds behind New Zealand, and France had dropped to third.
Rounding the second-to-last gate, Rockwool Denmark held right of way and France had to give them room. Coming out of the mark and trying to accelerate away, France got loose and nearly lost control, needing a full reset before they were back up to speed. They recovered in time to hold off Denmark and keep third. Switzerland came home fifth, Brazil sixth and Red Bull Italy last, in the back half of the fleet from the opening leg onward.
| Pos | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Foils NZ | 6:31.5 |
| 2 | Los Gallos Spain | +13.3 |
| 3 | DS Team France | +31.5 |
| 4 | Rockwool Denmark | +33.2 |
| 5 | Switzerland SailGP Team | +35.4 |
| 6 | Mubadala Brazil | +37.9 |
| 7 | Red Bull Italy | +44.5 |
*Mubadala Brazil were penalised early in the race. Switzerland and Rockwool Denmark each lodged two protests around the finish; all four were dismissed with no penalty.*
New Zealand through, and a straight fight for second
This is New Zealand's second win from Group A's four races so far this weekend, to go with a second place in Saturday's speed-record race. It puts them on 17 points, a total nobody else in the group can catch even with a maximum score in the last race of the day. The Black Foils have secured their spot in Sunday's final.
The second spot is a different story. France sit on 14, Spain on 11, with Group A's last race of the day now a straight shootout between the two of them. Switzerland, on 8, are already out of reach. Whichever of France and Spain finishes ahead of the other in that final race goes through to Sunday alongside New Zealand.
