Peter Burling and his Kiwi crew delivered an impressive win at the British SailGP Regatta in Plymouth beating the all-dominant Aussies for the first time this seasonPeter Burling and Blair Tuke alongside their kiwi crew, including new tactician, Jo Aleh have taken victory in the British SailGP regatta in Plymouth in impressive style finishing first or second in every race bar one.
\nThe third series of the high speed foiling catamaran racing circuit has been dominated by the two-time series winner, Tom Slingsby and his Australian team. So far the Aussies have won the opening two regattas of the season but the Kiwis managed to take the top spot in a tense, light and shifty winner takes all three-boat final race.
\nThe Kiwis had been in impressive form throughout the weekend, finally showing the kind of pace many expected when Burling and Tuke first signed up to SailGP some time ago. It was assumed they would be fighting at the front from the off, having delivered, as a team, dominant performances in almost every boat they have sailed together including 49er gold medals and two America\u2019s Cup wins.
\nIt may have taken the New Zealand crew a little longer than most expected but this weekend was the sort of dominance many predicted from them. But it does remain to be seen if they can carry this form into the next SailGP event in Denmark 19-20 August.
\nBurling and Co head to the finish line in front of fans at the British SailGP regatta in Plymouth. Photo: SailGP
\nBurling said: \u201cI think a lot of people would have expected this of us by now and it\u2019s great to have put together a good weekend and put in such a dominant performance. We have been working really hard to improve and I think we truly proved that today, we are just so much more comfortable with the boat now than we have been.\u201d
\nThe Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL warmed up in the best possible way for its home event in just three weeks\u2019 time with an impressive day two performance, delivering two second place finishes to secure a place in the three-boat podium final for the first time ever.
\nSehested said: \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time coming for us, and it\u2019s really pleasing to have made the final but if I\u2019m honest it feels a bit sour. We felt like with the wind shift we didn\u2019t have much luck in the final and it destroyed our chances of winning but that\u2019s racing.\u201d
\nFor the first time in a while it wasn\u2019t Tom Slingsby and his Australian team on the winner\u2019s podium, with a broken rudder \u2013\u00a0which was fixed in record time by the SailGP Technical Team \u2013\u00a0\u00a0nearly prematurely ending their afternoon in race five.
\nSlingsby said: \u201cWe are not disappointed at all actually, we are ecstatic about coming second in this event, it was just a really tough day for us. It looked like we wouldn\u2019t be in the final with a gear breakage but it was an incredible effort by our team to get us into that final. And to come away with second place, wow, we are really happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Great Britain missed the final \u2013 and the chance of winning its first event of the season \u2013 in controversial circumstances with a late penalty against Australia meters from the finish line in the day\u2019s final fleet race.
\nSir Ben Ainslie said: \u201cIt\u2019s really frustrating. I mean it\u2019s tight in SailGP, it comes down to those narrow margins. Chief Umpire Craig Mitchell and I have had our disagreements in the past and I\u2019m sure we will again in the future. I think it\u2019s a bad call, it\u2019s really frustrating and we are really disappointed, but that\u2019s top level sport, it happens, we have to take it on the chin and move on.\u201d
\nThe Duchess of Cambridge onboard the British F50 for a special Commonwealth match. Photo: SailGP
\nBefore the day\u2019s official racing, Ainslie\u2019s British F50 was driven by The Duchess of Cambridge in a friendly Commonwealth race against New Zealand, accompanied by UN Patron for the Ocean Lewis Pugh, on the event racecourse, with the home team emerging victorious.
\nThe Duchess also visited the SailGP technical site in her role as Patron of the 1851 Trust, the official charity of the Great Britain SailGP Team, where she joined a group of children taking part in the Protect Our Future sustainability program.
\nCouncillor Richard Bingley, Leader of Plymouth City Council, said: \u201cWhat an absolutely fantastic weekend in Britain\u2019s Ocean City! We were honored to host the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in the UK\u2019s first National Marine Park for the second year running. With SailGP comes a raft of benefits for Plymouth, including attracting thousands of visitors to our waterfront, providing a welcome boost to the local economy and raising the city\u2019s profile on a global stage.\u201d
\nThe European leg of the championship continues in Copenhagen for the ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix on August 19-20. For tickets, head to\u00a0SailGP.com\/Copenhagen\u00a0for more information, and for details on how to watch the action in Denmark head to\u00a0SailGP.com\/watch.
\nSee results and more at the SailGP website.<\/p>\n
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Peter Burling and his Kiwi crew delivered an impressive win at the British SailGP Regatta in Plymouth beating the all-dominant Aussies for the first time this seasonPeter Burling and Blair Tuke alongside their kiwi crew, including new tactician, Jo Aleh … <\/p>\n