Switzerland claimed their first win in more than a season during the second fleet race of the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth, a breakthrough built on tactical precision rather than raw pace. For a team that has so often shown potential without converting it into podium finishes, the result carried genuine weight.
The decisive moment arrived at Gate 2, where the Swiss executed a well-timed dive to pass Red Bull Italy and move into the lead. They then managed the rest of the race with cool discipline, absorbing pressure from both Emirates GBR and the Italians without being tempted into costly manoeuvres. A clean final mark rounding forced the British to alter their line, and that proved enough to confirm the victory.
Emirates GBR's Dylan Fletcher and Hannah Mills were precise throughout, consistently finding the faster lanes and keeping boat-handling tight to shed as little distance as possible. When they briefly lost overlap near the final gate, they kept their nerve and came through to finish second. That result left them at the top of the leaderboard after two races.
Italy's Ruggiero Tita ran a composed race to secure third. For a team still developing cohesion and integrating a new strategist, it was an encouraging step away from the mid-fleet finishes that have troubled them at times this season.
New Zealand's Peter Burling and the Black Foils worked through an early confrontation with Australia before settling into fourth, finishing narrowly ahead of the Australians in fifth. Spain recovered from a difficult start to quietly advance to sixth, while the United States improved on their Race 1 result to take seventh.
Fortunes shifted considerably across the fleet. The United States climbed from ninth in Race 1 to seventh in Race 2, while Canada held a steady mid-pack position. Germany recovered to ninth after crossing early, and Rockwool Denmark suffered a frustrating fall from third in the opening race to tenth, underlining the consistency problems that have followed them throughout the season.
With four races on the day's schedule and three more to follow before the Super Sunday final, every point is increasingly difficult to surrender. The Solent brings its own challenges, with local current, active ferry lanes, and tight course boundaries making hesitation a costly habit.
Two further races remained on the day's programme, and with Emirates GBR looking composed at the front and Switzerland firmly back in contention, the fight for a place in the final was already shaping up as a genuine thriller.
Results from Race 2
- Switzerland, 10 pts - Emirates GBR, 9pts - Red Bull Italy, 8 pts - New Zealand, 7 pts - BONDS Flying Roos, 6 pts - Spain, 5 pts - United States, 4 pts - Canada, 3 pts - GER Deutsche Bank, 2 pts - ROCKWOOL DEN, 1 pts - Mubadala Brazil, 0 pts - France, 0 pts
Fleet Race Total
- GBR with 19 pts - Switzerlandwith 16 pts - New Zealand with 16 pts - Spain with 12 pts - Red Bull Italy with 11 pts - BONDS Flying Roos with 10 pts - ROCKWOOL DEN with 9 pts - CanadaGiles Scott with 8 pts - United States with 6 pts - GER Deutsche Bank with 2 pts - Mubadala Brazil with 1 pts - France with 0 pts
