Peter Burling and the New Zealand Black Foils departed Cadiz with a runner-up finish at the DP World Spain Grand Prix, a result that moved them to second place in the Rolex SailGP Championship standings ahead of the season's final event.
The Black Foils had entered Sunday's racing in Cadiz sitting third overall, but consistent performances across the fleet racing rounds earned them a place in the final alongside Emirates Great Britain and Germany Deutsche Bank. A tightly contested decider followed, with the New Zealand crew and the British side each holding the lead at various stages before GBR pulled clear at the final mark and held on to the finish.
Co-CEO and driver Peter Burling said the team would take a great deal from the weekend, despite falling just short of the victory.
"I'm really pleased with how the team bounced back after what we saw as a tough result in Geneva. We put together a solid weekend here and executed the Final pretty much the way we wanted to — getting those right turns at the bottom. We lost a bit each time, which was frustrating, but overall it was a really good weekend for us. It's nice to be back here and we're already looking forward to getting into Abu Dhabi."
Burling also spoke about the moment that proved decisive, pointing to a narrow overlap at the final mark that went in GBR's favour.
"On that final turn towards the finish, we thought we'd be able to get to the zone off the left boundary, but we ended up on a much worse angle than expected going into the last mark. We were trying to get into the zone on the inside, but the Brits managed to just get an overlap on the outside. At that point we were just trying to make something happen. Still, we were happy to secure second and extend our gap over Spain and Australia in the overall standings."
With race victories spread across a range of teams throughout the event, Burling said the championship fight is unlikely to be settled until the closing races in Abu Dhabi.
"Every event we go into, we're learning and developing, but we're also there to win. Abu Dhabi will be quite different again with the 27-metre wing, probably the first time we'll run that configuration in the Gulf. It'll be interesting to see who can get the most out of the boat and the setup. We took some really good steps forward from Geneva to here, and we'll look to keep building on that."
Attention now turns to the Championship-deciding Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix 2025 Season Grand Final, presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, set for 29-30 November local time. All the action will be live in New Zealand on ThreeNow.
