Scott's unbeaten run continues with early victory at Princess Sofia Trophy

Giles Scott (Finn) in action at the Princess Sofia Trophy regatta in Palma, Mallorca © Robert Deaves

Giles Scott (Finn) in action at the Princess Sofia Trophy regatta in Palma, Mallorca © Robert Deaves

British Finn sailor Giles Scott secured victory at the Princess Sofia Trophy regatta on Friday with a day to spare to continue his winning streak since returning to the Olympic circuit six months ago.

Scott wrapped up the regatta with a third to go into Saturday's double points medal race – where only the top 10 sailors compete for a podium place – with an unassailable 29-point lead.

Since the Princess Sofia Trophy began in Palma, Spain, on Monday (April 2), Scott only finished outside of the top ten of the 79-boat Finn fleet twice.

The victory echoes his winning performance at the Rio 2016 Olympics when his metronomic consistency guaranteed him the gold medal prior to the medal race.

Scott, 30, remains unbeaten since stepping back into the Finn in October 2017 having taken a year off to sail with his predecessor Sir Ben Ainslie's America's Cup team.

He marked his return to the Olympic circuit with a win at Enoshima Olympic Week then followed it up with another at the Miami round of the World Cup Series in January this year.

Having sat out of the recent Finn European Championships, which was won by team mate Ed Wright, Scott's victory in Palma is significant as the clock counts down to the 2018 season highlight, the Sailing World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, in August.

"I've had a great week, and to have sealed the regatta with a race to spare is a very nice position to be in," said Scott, from Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. "I'm really pleased that I managed to be a bit more consistent than everyone else and put in a solid series.

"It's been tricky to select when to take some leverage and make a big gain, or when to be conservative – either could land you in trouble but I think I've played the game quite well.

"It's the first racing I've done since Miami so it's nice to come here and check in with where everyone else is at, and keep working towards Aarhus."

British Sailing Team athletes will feature in all ten of tomorrow's medal races.

British 49er FX crews Sophie Weguelin/Sophie Ainsworth and Charlotte Dobson/Saskia Tidey qualified for the medal race in ninth and tenth after they finished first and second respectively in the final race of the day.

In the 49er fleet, reigning world champions Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell go into their medal race on top with a five-point lead over Argentina's Yago and Klaus Lange.

Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre sit second overall in the women's 470 just four points behind Japan's Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka, while a win in the final fleet race for Amy Seabright and Anna Carpenter sees them start the medal race in fifth.

Men's 470 pair Luke Patience and Chris Grube will start their medal race in sixth overall, while British Sailing Team windsurfers Kieran Martin and Emma Wilson will feature in their respective RS:X class medal races.

Ben Saxton and Nicola Boniface are guaranteed either silver or bronze in the Nacra 17. The win was wrapped up today by Italian crew Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti.

John Gimson and Anna Burnett will join Saxton and Boniface in the medal race after finishing fleet racing in tenth overall.

Ali Young lies second overall in the Laser Radial fleet, while in the Laser Standard Michael Beckett sits sixth with Nick Thompson tenth.

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