Day 1, Group B, Race 2 – Los Gallos gave the home fans exactly what they came for. Spain's SailGP crew hit the front soon after the start of Race 1 in Group B and stayed there, crossing the finish line with one of the closest SailGP finishes we've seen, to open the inaugural Spain Sail Grand Prix with a lead-wire-to-wire win on Valencia's home water.
It's the form Los Gallos have carried through the second half of the season. Halifax and Portsmouth both went their way before Australia's BONDS Flying Roos snapped the run in Sassnitz. Valencia sees Spain back in front again, and they made it look easy.
Canada pays for a messy start
Canada's NorthStar found trouble before the gun even fired. Giles Scott's crew were called for fouling Denmark's ROCKWOOL boat in a port and starboard incident, then found themselves over the line early as well. Two penalties inside a few seconds meant two manoeuvres to complete before they could get on with racing, and the damage was done. USA and France were both investigated for separate incidents in the same pre-start window and cleared without penalty.
France got the jump at the start, stretching out to nearly 50 metres in the first few seconds as the home fans watched their team turn away late in response. USA's reaction was a beat slow and cost Taylor Canfield's crew an extra manoeuvre to stay in touch. Denmark ran into traffic at the second gate, forced to dip behind both USA and France.
Spain had already gone the other way. Sailing with five crew rather than the usual six to suit the lighter breeze, Los Gallos looked the calmest boat on the course through every manoeuvre, holding its foils through turns that had others dropping off them.
Canfield's cross seals second
The best piece of boat handling of the day outside the winner belonged to Taylor Canfield. Holding right of way at a boundary cross in the middle of the course, he kept USA foiling through the turn while France came off the foils trying to match him, banking a 20 metre gain that put second place beyond reach for the rest of the fleet. USA crossed 40 seconds behind Spain.
Spain, meanwhile, just kept adding to the lead. Half a minute clear by the third mark, well over a minute up by the last gate, the race was decided long before the finish line came into view.
France pips Canada in a photo finish for fourth
The real fight was for the minor placings. Canada clawed its way back into contention after the early penalty, running Denmark and France close through the middle of the course, and by the fifth mark had actually got its nose ahead of the French boat. But USA didn't have right of way at the final turn and had to give Rockwool Denmark room, handing Denmark third and setting up a straight sprint to the line for fourth and fifth. France found the better angle in and crossed just ahead of Canada. Germany, swallowed by disturbed air off the rest of the fleet all race, came home last.
Four more protests were lodged during the race, against USA, Denmark, France and Germany. None resulted in a penalty, so the order on the water stood.
What it means for Group B
Two from Group B go through to Sunday's final, and Spain is looking good at the moment but with another race today and two tomorrow it is still anyone's game.
Race 1 result (Group B): 1. Spain, 2. USA, 3. Denmark, 4. France, 5. Canada, 6. Germany
