Australia Team dominate at SailGP Grand Final
by Olivia Hogan / Australia SailGP Team 7 May 2023 04:50 BST
6-7 May 2023
Australia SailGP Team and Canada SailGP Team in action on Race Day 1 of the Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final in San Francisco, USA. Saturday 6th May © Bob Martin for SailGP
The Aussies have shown their infamous aggression on the San Francisco race course, dominating the dramatic first day of racing at the Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final.
Whilst the Australian’s have already secured their seat in the Grand Final winner-takes-all race, Slingsby confessed that the team needed to do well in the fleet racing to build confidence ahead of the final dance of SailGP season 3.
The Aussies secured two firsts and a third place in the fleet races, placing them in number one position on the event leaderboard.
Tom Slingsby said: “It’s the day we needed and It’s given us that confidence that we have missed at previous events.”
Fans were also forced to hold their breath during the second fleet race of the day, as Phil Robertson’s Canada Team almost collided with the Australians, which could have taken the Flying Roo out of the Grand Final. It was the quick thinking of Slingsby who turned the Flying Roo up quickly to avoid a catastrophe.
Tom Slingsby said: “I don’t know if they didn’t see us or they didn’t react in time but that was a really close call. The aggressive side of me that wanted to win the race wanted to press on them but then the other part took over and told me to get out of there and keep it clean to protect the asset.”
Based on the results of today’s racing, New Zealand is likely to meet the Aussies in the Grand Final race, with France and Emirates Great Britain left to battle for the third seat. However with two fleet races remaining everything is still to play for.
Tom Slingsby said: “We all know that if we get locked into a battle with another boat, the third guy is going to be able to sail away faster. It’s $1million dollars for first and $0 dollars for second so there is no second tomorrow.”
The two qualifying fleet races and the Grand Final race will take place on San Francisco Bay between 2.30pm-4pm PDT on Sunday. Australian fans can tune in live on Fox Sports and on Kayo in Australia to watch the racing. Kayo are offering fans free access to both the live and replay racing, via its Kayo Freebies offer.