Germany surges from second to last to win Race 4 as breeze dies on Guanabara Bay

Guanabara Bay ran out of breeze before race four could finish. The wind had been fitful and unpredictable throughout the day, and conditions deteriorated to the point where the race was terminated before the full course was complete. The back markers crossed more than five minutes after the winner, a gap that reflected how badly the dying air had split the fleet.

The start was messy. Australia jumped early and collected a prestart penalty, then picked up two more infringements during the race. A further penalty struck just before the finish, forcing a turn-back that dropped them to third. Remove that final penalty and they would have likely won, which says plenty about the pace of the Flying Roos, even if the execution never quite came together. Canada were also penalised near the finish as the fading conditions continued to push the fleet into the same close-quarters situations that had caused trouble all afternoon. GBR had a miserable time of it, filing three protests in the opening minutes, all of which were dismissed, and by the second mark they were already nearly two and a half minutes behind the leader.

Germany produced the standout recovery of the race. Starting second to last, they had worked their way up to fifth by the second mark, posting speeds of 33 km/h. The second gate saw them in fourth, the third leg brought them into second, and by the third gate they were carrying real momentum. They passed Denmark shortly after to consolidate second position, still behind Australia at that stage. When Australia's fifth-leg penalty dropped them out of contention, Germany moved into the lead and never looked back. Their first place finish was convincing. Denmark finished 13 seconds back, Australia third at 23 seconds, Canada fourth at 29, USA fifth at 37.

Beyond the top five the field scattered. Spain finished sixth, Italy seventh, Brazil eighth, Sweden ninth, France tenth, Switzerland eleventh. GBR came home last, over five minutes behind the winner.

Rio standings after Race 4

Four fleet races in and Slingsby leads the Rio standings on 28 points, the Flying Roos the most consistent team across the day despite their execution troubles. USA sit just one point back on 27, continuing their upward trend this season. Artemis hold third on 26, built on Outteridge's race one win and steady scoring since.

Germany's race four victory moves them into fourth overall. Los Gallos sit fifth following their race two win under new ownership, while Red Bull Italy are sixth on the back of Robertson's race three result. ROCKWOOL Denmark hold seventh, France eighth, and NorthStar ninth, with Brazil rounding out the top ten.

Switzerland and GBR remain without Rio points, while the Black Foils carry a penalty into the remainder of the series.

GBR continue to be in trouble

GBR sit twelfth. A retirement, a sixth, an eleventh, and a twelfth represent the full extent of their day. For a team that arrived in Rio as championship leaders, it is about as rough a day of fleet racing as a front-running outfit can endure. Protest and penalty issues have compounded the damage, and questions about the boat have lingered since that race one retirement. Three more fleet races remain tomorrow before the final, and right now GBR are a long way from where they need to be.

Race results

Fleet Race 4 results

Fleet race total results after Fleet Race 4