Northstar Canada and Los Gallos Spain punch their tickets to the final as Black Foils New Zealand fall agonisingly short

Group A's group stage came down to the wire in Portsmouth, and it was Northstar Canada and Los Gallos Spain who came out on the right side of it, securing the two spots in today's four boat final. Rockwell Racing Denmark led every mark to take out the race itself, their best result of the season, but with Denmark already out of contention for the final it was the battle behind them that mattered. New Zealand's Black Foils, the defending event champions and Group A's leaders at the end of day one, miss the final by the smallest of margins, and Bonds Flying Roos Australia, the runaway leaders of the season standings, are out entirely.

Australia's day undone before the first mark

With four boats separated by a point or two on the leaderboard, this was always going to be won and lost on small moments, and Bonds Flying Roos Australia found the first of them before the race had even started, called over the line early. It was, in effect, the end of their hopes on the spot. Tom Slingsby's crew still went out and raced hard, but with too much ground to make up against three rivals in form, they came home sixth, missing the final despite arriving in Portsmouth with an 18 point lead at the top of the overall season standings.

Denmark find their best form when it doesn't count

Nicolai Sehested and Rockwell Racing Denmark produced the performance many felt had been coming all season, leading from the first mark to the last for a comfortable win. It came with an asterisk. With Denmark already unable to reach the top two in Group A regardless of the result, their win had no bearing on who joined Los Gallos Spain and Northstar Canada in the final, but it was still a statement of intent from a crew that has steadily improved throughout the event.

Canada's wind read seals it

Northstar Canada's route to the final was built on one outstanding piece of tactical sailing. Sitting outside the qualifying positions in the middle of the race, Giles Scott's crew read an approaching wind shift better than anyone else on the water, breaking away from the fleet to gain enormous distance in a single leg. It carried them from around fifth place on the water into clear second by the finish, comfortably enough to secure their spot in the final. Paul Campbell-James and the rest of the Canadian crew will have families and friends on the shore in Portsmouth to celebrate what was, by any measure, the sailing of the day.

New Zealand's costly gamble

Black Foils New Zealand held one of the qualifying places for most of the race, sitting comfortably inside the top two deep into the back half of the course. It unravelled at the sixth mark, where Peter Burling took New Zealand wide of the mark in what commentators described as a deliberate tactical foul, an attempt to set up a blocking position on Los Gallos Spain later in the race. It didn't come off. The manoeuvre cost New Zealand a penalty and far more distance than they could afford to give up, and by the time they crossed the line in fourth, both Canada and Spain had gone through ahead of them. It's a brutal way for the defending champions to see their event end.

Los Gallos Spain, for their part, had their own wobbles, losing the water position they'd built earlier in the race, but did enough to secure the points needed to join Canada in the final regardless of how the closing stages played out on the racetrack.

Race 5 result, Group A

Group A's final standings

Northstar Canada and Los Gallos Spain both finish Group A's group stage on 16 points, with Canada taking top spot in the group on tiebreaker. New Zealand's Black Foils end on 14, agonisingly short after leading the group at the end of day one. Bonds Flying Roos Australia finish on 12, Rockwell Racing Denmark on 10 after their maiden win of the event, Red Bull Italy on 6 and Mubadala Brazil on 1.

Canada and Spain progress to today's four boat final from Group A. For the Black Foils, missing the final by two points after leading Group A outright twenty four hours earlier is as fine a margin as SailGP's new group racing format has produced all season.