Disappointing day for Slingsby's Australia as Canada clinches the win in LA
by Australia SailGP Team 17 Mar 21:12 AEDT
15-16 March 2025
Australia SailGP Team helmed by Tom Slingsby lead Red Bull Italy SailGP Team, New Zealand SailGP Team, Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team, France SailGP Team and Switzerland SailGP Team on Race Day 2 of the Rolex Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix © Felix Diemer for SailGP
The Australia SailGP Team delivered a gutsy performance on day two at the Rolex Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix, narrowly sneaking into the Podium Final but ultimately falling short of the win.
NorthStar Canada were crowned victors for the first time since Christchurch in 2023, with the New Zealand Black Foils placing second and Tom Slingsby's Australia finishing third. The tight LA racecourse once again delivered nail-biting moments, with close crosses, aggressive manoeuvres and a signature 'Slingsby slingshot' defining the day's action.
The event brought more unexpected drama as ROCKWOOL Denmark was forced to retire from racing after a collision with a race mark on Saturday, causing significant damage to their foil and casing, ruling them out of Super Sunday.
Despite light winds that forced all 11 teams to race with a reduced crew configuration of four on day two, the Aussies displayed strong form having been in the hunt all weekend.
Australia's hopes of reaching the Final went down to the wire in the last fleet race of the day, needing to overtake the United States in a nail-biting sprint to the finish line to secure the one point required to make the final.
Slingsby said: "It felt like we had a comfortable position going into the last race. We finished top seven so I knew we were comfortably into the Final, but then I looked up halfway through the race and Great Britain was in the lead which was the one boat we couldn't let win. All of a sudden it got really tight out there and we had to overtake USA on the way to the finish line, and fortunately we got there."
New Zealand came out flying but the Canadians stayed close and eventually capitalised on an opening left by the Kiwis to seize the lead, while Australia fought to keep pace from behind.
Slow off the mark in the Final, the Australians faced an uphill battle to recover any position with Slingsby explaining that his crew "were out of the game from the get-go."
"I forgot how to start today - starts were a real problem for me. It's amazing how that can go from your biggest strength to your biggest weakness in a matter of weeks. While our results are good for season standings, we came here to win," Slingsby said.
Despite the disappointing finish, the Aussies made crucial gains in the overall 2025 Season standings and have strengthened their second-place position on the overall 2025 Season leaderboard, keeping the pressure on Emirates Great Britain who sits in first by just two points.
The fleet now heads north for the second event of the United States double-header, with the Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix taking place on 22-23 March.
Slingsby said: "We always sail well in San Francisco, that is our best event if you look at our track record. We will reset and come back stronger next weekend."
Racing will commence on Saturday 22 March in Australia from 8:30am to 10:00am AEDT. Fans can catch all the high-speed action live on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.