Germany win at home as Australia's perfect day ends in a foul at the line

Germany SailGP Team have won the third and final Group B race of the day at the ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix, their first win of the weekend, in front of a sold-out home crowd of around 15,000. Behind them, Tom Slingsby's Bonds Flying Roos went from two wins out of two to finishing last, penalised for a foul at the line in a finish that also cost the US SailGP Team a penalty of their own.

Erik Kosegarten-Heil's crew got the start right, coming off the line in the middle of the fleet and finding clean air first, rolling over NorthStar Canada to lead at the first mark by close to 90km/h. Australia were actually the fastest boat on the course at that point, clocking 101km/h, but poor positioning off the start line left them only fifth. Sebastian Vettel, the four-time Formula 1 champion and part of the German team's ownership group, was among the crowd watching it happen.

At the second gate, Emirates GBR split away from the rest of the fleet on their own, while everyone else, including Artemis Sweden, followed Australia's route. It didn't pay off immediately: GBR were last by the second mark. Germany briefly lost the lead around the same stage of the race, then got it straight back when NorthStar Canada fumbled a board drop chasing them down and lost 20 metres in the process. Germany then picked up their own boundary penalty in the gusty conditions after the third mark, but their lead by then was big enough to absorb it.

Rain began moving in as the fleet turned for home. In the run to the line, Australia fouled Emirates GBR on a port-starboard call, and the US SailGP Team fouled Artemis Sweden in the same stretch. Both Australia and USA lost significant speed serving their penalties, and Artemis capitalised, climbing from sixth at the previous mark all the way to third at the finish. Emirates GBR got past USA in the closing metres to take fourth, leaving the Americans fifth. Australia crossed the line last.

Race 3, Group B result

*All six finish times confirmed by official timing. Germany penalised for a boundary infringement after Mark 3. Australia penalised for fouling Emirates GBR and the US SailGP Team penalised for fouling Artemis Sweden, both in the run to the finish.*

Group B after three races

Points run 5-4-3-2-1-0 across the group stage. Australia still lead on 10 points despite finishing last here, but their cushion has shrunk. Artemis Sweden's late run to third lifts them into provisional second on 9, a point ahead of NorthStar Canada on 8. Emirates GBR sit fourth on 7, Germany fifth on 6 after their win, and the US SailGP Team last on 5. Only the top two go through to Sunday's four-boat final, and with Sweden and Canada separated by a single point, that second spot is still open.