The Australians secured two race wins out of four on day one of the KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix

BONDS Flying Roos - KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix © SailGP

The BONDS Flying Roos delivered a powerful opening day performance on Sydney Harbour, with Olympic gold medallist Iain 'Goobs' Jensen making an impressive debut for the Australians at the record-seventh KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix.

In their first official races together, despite three decades of friendship, BONDS Flying Roos Driver and CEO Tom Slingsby and Wing Trimmer Jensen quickly found rhythm, with Australia claiming two race wins from four fleet races.

Competing in front of a packed home crowd, the Australians delivered a strong and consistent performance in shifty conditions, recording finishes of 1st, 8th, 6th and 1st to close the day second on the leaderboard behind Spain heading into Super Sunday.

Slingsby said, "It was really tough out there. I've grown up racing on Sydney Harbour and I've sailed in those sorts of conditions a couple of times, but it was challenging. The toughest part was trying not to get dragged into a battle with another boat. We ended up next to the British a lot and then we got locked in with the Germans. It's about trying to stay in your own space and sail your own race, which is actually harder than it looks."

Stepping into the line-up following injury, Jensen slotted seamlessly into the Australian crew, contributing to confident manoeuvres and trademark consistency around one of SailGP's most technical racecourses.

"It was great to give Goobs a proper homecoming and win his first race back in the green and gold. I've been wanting to sail with Goobs for so long, we've been great mates for more than 30 years, and to finally race together is amazing. He's the godfather to my son, and we've been talking about sailing together for 20 years. We finally did it, and to win the first race back, and the last race today, is pretty special. We're stoked," Slingsby said.

For Jensen, the Sydney event marks a memorable first outing with the BONDS Flying Roos after missing the two events of the season (Perth and Auckland) through injury.

Australia now heads into day two firmly in contention for a place in the three-boat Final, as the BONDS Flying Roos look to convert strong form into another Sydney podium finish.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, Slingsby added, "The 27-metre wing will go in and that means lighter conditions are expected. The forecast I saw was more north-easterly so if it's a bit warmer with more sun and fewer clouds, we might get a decent breeze."

Racing resumes tomorrow on Sydney Harbour, where the top three ranked teams will advance to the winner-takes-all Podium Final.

Don't miss the Super Sunday finale on 1 March, with last remaining tickets available at SailGP.com/Sydney. Australian fans can tune in live on Fox Sports, Kayo Sports and SBS from 5:30-7:00pm AEDT.