Emirates GBR delivered a solid performance on the opening day of the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix, securing second place overall after four wild races on Sydney Harbour.
The British crew faced a difficult start in race one where they were forced to take evasive action to avoid a collision with Italy, dropping them to the back of the fleet. They managed to fight their way back through the pack to claim a fifth-place finish.
The opening race was won by Team Switzerland, followed by Spain and home favourites Australia.
The second race proved to be a highlight for Emirates GBR, as they made a great start and followed closely behind Tom Slingsby’s Australia SailGP Team at the first mark.
The race was a drama-filled duel, with both teams exchanging the lead multiple times. The Brits ultimately edged ahead to take the win. Reflecting on the race, Fletcher described it on the water as “a real ding-dong with the Aussies.”
Second were Australia with Quentin Delapierre’s France taking third in their brand new F50 after missing the first two events.
In the penultimate race of the day, a late start saw Emirates GBR enter the course last. However, the Brits dug deep to fightback to fifth by leg three.
The final leg was described as “chaos” by commentator Stevie Morrison, with multiple teams dropping off their foils. The British team capitalized on the situation to secure another hard-fought third-place finish.
Race 3 winner was Slingsby’s Aussie team ahead of Sebastien Schneiter’s Switzerland adding to their first race win, and Denmark in fourth.
The final race saw Emirates GBR struggle off the line, rounding the bottom mark in fourth place behind Canada’s North Star Team, led by the British team’s former Driver Giles Scott.
A battle for third ensued, with Dylan Fletcher successfully forcing a boundary penalty on the Canadian team before splitting the course at the bottom mark. The move paid off, and Emirates GBR secured another third-place finish.
Winner of race 4 was the flying Aussie team wrapping up a ‘good day at the office’ with back-to-back wins for a 3-2-1-1 race record, to top the table with 37 points.
Emirates GBR finished in second place, with 5-1-3-3 and 32 points.
France finished the day in third with a consistent 4-3-8-2 race record on 27 points.
