Starts, not straight-line speed, decided the opening day of the Spain Sail Grand Prix in Valencia. Every single race winner on Saturday led at the first mark, and in the tricky, lighter conditions on offer, there was precious little chance to claw back a bad start.
Spain's Los Gallos arrived at their home event under pressure to perform, with thousands of fans packed into the Race Stadium expecting a show. They delivered.
Diego Botin and his crew nailed the start of Race 1B and never looked back, immediately putting distance into the United States and DS Team France. It was flawless sailing, and the perfect way to open a home campaign.
"It's very special to open the event like this, the crowd loved it," Botin said. "But there are plenty more races still to come and we need to stay focused."
Denmark's ROCKWOOL Racing fought back well for second, with the United States taking third.
Los Gallos backed it up in Race 2B, again winning the start and controlling proceedings from the front. A rare board-drop error saw the Spanish boat drop off the foils, handing ROCKWOOL a brief sniff of the lead, but Botin's crew found one final gust of breeze and reclaimed it by mere centimetres.
Revenge came for the Danes in Race 3B, a comfortable win that left them second overnight in Group B on 12 points, just behind Los Gallos on 14. The Americans put together a strikingly consistent day: three races, three podiums.
Group A told a different story. Red Bull Italy served notice as genuine contenders, while Australia's Bonds Flying Roos carried their winning form from Sassnitz, Germany straight into Valencia.
Phil Robertson's Italian crew won Race 1A off the back of a blistering start, holding out the Flying Roos for their first win of the day. The Australians hit back in Race 2A, Tom Slingsby marking his 42nd birthday with a win built on another sharp start.
"We got a good start, and in these light conditions if you get a good start you're out in clean air," Slingsby said.
Red Bull Italy had the last laugh, though, taking out Race 3A to sit second overall in Group A on 10 points, just one behind the Flying Roos on 11.
Explora Swiss rounded out the podium in second for that final race. Artemis salvaged third after a torrid start to the day, a broken jib part having ruled them out of the opening race entirely.
Only the top two from each group advance to Sunday's Final, and with two fleet races per group still to sail, the Bonds Flying Roos, Red Bull Italy, Los Gallos and ROCKWOOL Racing all hold the upper hand heading into day two.
Racing resumes at 1330 local time, 1130 UTC, on Sunday. Saturday's racing made one thing plain: get the start right, and the race is already half won.
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