Emirates GBR are out of the finals in SailGP Rio

Guanabara Bay finally delivered on Sunday. With 25 knot breeze in the bay, Race 5 got away cleanly and the F50s were up on their foils from the outset. Tom Slingsby and the BONDS Flying Roos made the most of it. Starting from behind the pack, they rolled through the fleet with real speed and seized control early. Artemis also got away well, settling into second soon after the start, while much of the rest of the fleet stayed compressed and struggled to find the same level of punch.

Emirates GBR were in trouble almost immediately. Two early protests went nowhere, and by Mark 1 they were already 33 seconds behind the leader. It was the sort of start they could not afford. Without a race win, their hopes of making the event final were already hanging by a thread.

Out in front, the race quickly centred on Australia, Artemis, and Red Bull Italy. Australia picked up a pre start penalty at the gun but had enough pace to absorb it without real damage. Brazil also carried a pre start penalty. Behind them, the rest of the fleet fought through another tight midfield battle. At Mark 3, Denmark’s race began to unravel. A foul on Spain while on starboard tack brought three penalties in quick succession, dropping them from contention back through the fleet. They would eventually finish eighth. Elsewhere, the order looked familiar, much like Saturday’s four races. The one surprise was Germany, which never got into the contest and spent the race buried near the back.

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At the front, though, the margins stayed just close enough to keep things alive. Australia led Artemis by four seconds at Mark 1, with Italy tucked in behind. By Mark 2, Artemis had trimmed the gap to five seconds, while Italy sat 15 seconds back. Spain and the United States had already edged clear of the chasing group. Then came the key shift. Artemis dropped off the foils and lost speed, allowing Italy through. By Mark 5, Australia led Italy by five seconds, with Artemis 14 behind, Spain 21 back, and the United States 34 adrift. That still left room for pressure, but the Flying Roos stayed tidy and fast, then stretched away on the final run to the finish.

Italy crossed second, its second podium in two days, with Phil Robertson again keeping Red Bull Italy right in the fight. Artemis took third, and there may have been some frustration there. The Swedish boat had come in with a clear plan, but the start timing was not quite right, and the mid race loss of speed cost them. Spain finished fourth and the United States fifth. Switzerland took sixth, France seventh, Denmark eighth after its penalty drama, Brazil ninth, Canada tenth, Germany eleventh, and Emirates GBR last. GBR was still on the course when the race finished, more than five minutes behind Australia. The commentary team was already saying what the scoreboard suggested, their path to the final looked all but gone. With two fleet races left, they needed a turnaround that had not been visible in the first five.

For the second day running, Australia, Italy, and Artemis filled the top three. It is beginning to look like more than coincidence. Saturday hinted at a pattern, and Sunday reinforced it. In Guanabara Bay, clean, fast starts are proving critical. Australia and Artemis showed that again here. Miss the line, or come in without speed, and it becomes very hard to claw back the leaders once they are established. The bay is rewarding a certain style of sailing, and the same teams keep finding it. Two fleet races remained before the final, and with proper breeze at last in Rio, Sunday was turning into the day this event had been waiting for.

Race results

Fleet race 5 results

Fleet race total results after Race 5