NorthStar SailGP Team finish 2nd in the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix
by NorthStar SailGP Team 9 Feb 2025 10:43 GMT
February 8-9, 2025
Australia SailGP Team helmed by Tom Slingsby, Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team helmed by Dylan Fletcher and Canada NorthStar SailGP Team helmed by Giles Scott in the final on Race Day 2 of the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix in Sydney, Australia © Felix Diemer for SailGP
The KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix took place this weekend on the iconic Sydney Harbour. With plenty of breeze, the 24M wings were up and the T-Foils were humming across the 12 boat fleet.
On day one, the NorthStar SailGP Team struggled to get off the start line which made it extra challenging to move up through the fleet. However, the Canadians steadily improved throughout the day, finishing 7th, 8th, 5th and 4th.
The team debriefed with Head Coach, Joe Glanfield and reset for Sunday. Completely different conditions meant racing would be around Shark Island, ideal viewing for the thousands of spectators and a more challenging course for the 11 competing teams.
Three solid starts in races five, six and seven today translated into a spot in the finals, where the Canadians lined up against the Australians and Great Britain. A penalty on leg one meant the Aussies had to drop back behind the NorthStar SailGP Team and never recovered, meanwhile Giles and the team sailed seamlessly building a strong lead. Then on the penultimate leg, the Brits benefited from a wind shift on the right side of the course that bolstered them into first for the final sprint to the finish. Emirates GBR took the win and the Canadians came home in second place, to record their first podium finish of Season 5!
"We've had an amazing day and are super happy. We had a big lead most of the final race, then on the final upwind the Brits picked up shift on right hand side. Amazing effort from the NorthStar team. I'm really happy to get on the podium for the first time as a squad," said driver Giles Scott.
This weekend's result moves the NorthStar SailGP Team up into sixth place on the overall Rolex SailGP Championship season leader board. From here, racing moves to North America for the Rolex Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix on 15-16 March.
KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix // Crew List:
- Giles Scott - Driver
- Annie Haeger - Strategist
- Paul Campbell-James - Wing trimmer
- Billy Gooderham - Flight Controller
- Tom Ramshaw - Grinder
- Tim Hornsby - Grinder
- Cooper Dressler - Grinder