SailGP: Spain put under pressure for win in New York - Day 2
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com 9 Jun 10:38 AEST
Spain celebrate their win crossing the finish line - Day 2 of the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix © Samo Vidic/SailGP
The Defending SailGP champions, a Spanish crew led by Diego Botin, were in a league of their own to win the New York event.
In the Event Final between the Black Foils, French and Spanish teams, the overnight leaders stamped their authority on the race from the start, leading around Mark 1 by a narrow margin, but opted to sail their own race rather than covering the Kiwis - and eased away to a comfortable win with a fast-finishing French team in third overall.
Conditions improved from the murky conditions of Day 1, where frequent rain squalls, marginal foiling conditions, and a strong current frequently dictated race outcomes. Sunday was brighter but still heavily overcast. The breeze was double the strength at 15kts - with all the F50 fleet foiling with ease.
Organisers decided to stay with the same light air L-Foils used yesterday and did not switch to the new T-Foils, which, in hindsight, would have been the better choice. The medium-sized Purpose 24-metre rig was used again for the second day running. However, the light air foils proved to be challenging for the flight controllers, with some top boats taking to the air on occasions at a high positional cost while they recovered.
Race 4: Spain started the way they intended to finish, with a flying start to the first race of the day - Race 4, leading around the first Mark, but conceded the lead to Mubadala Brazil - sailed by Martine Grael - who had their best Event since joining the League. The Australian team was one of those who went airborne, dropping back in the fleet and finishing 11th in the race, making it a tough call for them to make the three-boat final, being 10 points off the top trio and in sixth position. Spain led the Event with a 6-point lead over France, with Brazil 1 point further back, a further point ahead of the Kiwis, and Denmark 1 point distant to round out the top 5.
The Danes were unable to continue racing after the first race of the day, leaving the final three places to be decided between four teams.
Race 5: The BlackFoils got the jump on the inside line at the Race 5 start and were first around Mark 1. The high-lift foils caused some grief during the high-speed bearaways at Mark 1. Spain was at the back of the fleet and, mid-way through the race, were in a tiebreak to make the Final - having lost their 8pt lead in just three legs. France had a good day, overtaking New Zealand on Leg 3, with the Brits putting on their best showing of the Event in third place - just ahead of the now more consistent Brazilian team. That was the way it remained until the finish, with Spain now out of the Final in 4th place overall on the tiebreak, but with both on 34pts compared to the Kiwis 35pts and France now leading overall on 38pts.
Race 6: The fleet was well late for the start of the final fleet race, having to sail on the wind before bearing away to port to hit the finish line at top pace. The leading teams overall, with the exception of the Black Foils, were at the back of the second group, with the Flying Roos leading around Mark 1, pursued by New Zealand, the USA, Canada, and Italy. Spain and Brazil were 9th and 10th respectively. To make their task even more difficult, Spain was penalised in Leg 2 - having to drop behind its rivals for the final spot, Brazil. Australia took the lead in Leg 4 and held it to the finish, with Canada in second and Great Britain in third. Spain secured their Final spot by sailing straight through to leeward of the USA on the Final leg.
Final Spain and New Zealand got off to a fast start and stayed that way until Mark 3. The Spanish took the right-hand Mark, and the Kiwis the left for an easier bearaway rounding. However, there was a lot more pressure on the right-hand side of the course, of which the Spanish took full advantage, building a substantial lead at the bottom with the French almost catching the Kiwis at the Mark. Spain continued to lead for the rest of the race, scoring an easy win, with New Zealand narrowly edging out the French to take second place in the Final.
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