New Zealand’s Black Foils will need a strong performance on Sunday to reach the Spain Sail Grand Prix final after a difficult opening day left them seventh in Group A.
A penalty for an early start in race one, followed by a fourth and another sixth, leaves the team eight points behind second-placed Red Bull Italy. Only the top two from each group advance to the four-boat final.
“It was a really tough day today. We struggled to get off the line and then find opportunities beyond that,” said co-CEO and driver Peter Burling.
Valencia’s light, tricky conditions made starts decisive, with all six Saturday race winners leading at the first mark. “If you can get your nose in front, build speed and get up on the foils, you’re in really good shape at mark one. We couldn’t quite manage to get that done today, so it was pretty frustrating,” Burling said.
The team was tripped up by different small details across the three races, with few chances to split from boats ahead.
Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos lead Group A on 11 points after one win, with Red Bull Italy taking the other two races. The Australians have won five events this season, including the most recent Grand Prix in Sassnitz, and hold a 20-point lead over fourth-placed USA in the championship.
Spain’s Los Gallos gave the home crowd back-to-back wins in Group B before a second place, finishing on 14 points, two clear of ROCKWOOL Racing. The Spanish team have never reached a final on home water despite winning in Halifax and Portsmouth earlier this season.
With 10 points available Sunday, Black Foils need at least eight — equivalent to a win and a third or two second places — to have any chance of reaching the final, depending on other Group A results.
“There’s plenty to play for. A couple of teams have probably jumped out a little bit, but it’s super close amongst the rest,” Burling said. “It’ll be whoever puts together a good performance tomorrow, and I’m sure we’ll still have a shot at making the final going into that last race.”
Sunday’s racing runs from 1.30pm to 3pm local time (11.30pm Sunday to 1am Monday NZT), with live coverage on ThreeNow.
