Germany wins Race 4 in SailGP Rio in a dying breeze

The breeze finally gave up in race four after testing the fleet all day in Guanabara Bay. What little wind remained was patchy and unpredictable, and the race was eventually terminated before the full course was complete, the back markers grinding home over five minutes behind the winner.

The start was messy again. Australia jumped early and picked up a prestart penalty, then added two more during the race. Then they were hit again just before the finish, forcing them to turn back and settle for third. Strip out that final penalty and they would have likely won, which says plenty about the pace of the Flying Roos, even if the execution never quite came together.

Canada also picked up a penalty on the water near the finish, the dying conditions continuing to squeeze the fleet into the same close-quarters incidents that had caused trouble all afternoon. GBR faced another challenging situation, filing three protests in the initial minutes, all of which were dismissed, and by the second mark, they were already nearly two and a half minutes behind the leader.

Germany was second to last at the start, by the second mark they’d moved into fifth with speeds of 33 km/h. By the second gate they’d moved into fourth, and in the third leg into second. By the time they’d hit the third gate they had picked up pace, and soon after passed Denmark to gain second position. Still behind Australia at this point, the fifth leg penalty to Australia meant that Germany were now in the lead. Their first place finish was convincing. Denmark finished 13 seconds back, Australia third at 23 seconds, Canada fourth at 29, USA fifth at 37.

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Behind the top five the gaps blew out. Spain sixth, Italy seventh, Brazil eighth, Sweden ninth, France tenth, Switzerland eleventh.

GBR last, over five minutes behind the winner.

Rio standings after Race 4

Four fleet races in, and Slingsby leads the Rio standings on 28 points, the Flying Roos the most consistent team across the day. The only thing missing was cleaner execution. USA sit just one point back on 27, continuing their upward trend this season. Artemis hold third on 26 after Outteridge’s race one win and steady scoring.

Germany move into fourth following their race four victory, with Los Gallos fifth after their race two win under new ownership. Red Bull Italy are sixth on the back of Robertson’s race three result. ROCKWOOL Denmark sit seventh, France eighth, and NorthStar ninth, with Brazil rounding out the top ten.

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Switzerland and GBR remain without Rio points, while the Black Foils carry a penalty.

GBR continue to be in trouble

GBR sit twelfth. A retirement, then a sixth, an eleventh, and a twelfth. For the championship leaders coming into Rio, it’s about as rough a day of fleet racing as you’ll see from a front-running team. Protest and penalty issues haven’t helped, and there are still question marks over the boat after that race one retirement. Three more fleet races to come tomorrow before the final, and right now, they’re nowhere near it.

Race results

Fleet Race 4 results

Fleet race total results after Fleet Race 4