Black Foils spoil SailGP party in Portsmouth
- NZ Sports Wire
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
It was not to be for Dylan Fletcher’s Great Britain SailGP Team as Peter Burling’s Black Foils clinched victory in Portsmouth.
The New Zealand crew overcame a slow start in the three-boat final off England's south coast to deny the hometown Brits and secure their second regatta victory of the 2024-25 season on Sunday (Monday NZ Time).
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Burling and Co finished second, fourth, first, 11th, first, fifth and first in the seven fleet races in Portsmouth to qualify second, one point behind GBR, for the final. They moved to the top of the SailGP season standings.
Taking to the winners’ podium, Burling commended his team’s performance: “It was nice racing out there. We were riding some pretty challenging conditions and to pull off today, as a group, we're super pleased.
"Going into the European series as the winners is something we're really proud of and we’re looking forward to continuing to build on that. I’m really pleased with the way we fought today.”
In a showdown on The Solent, Burling’s team showed the fleet just who is back in charge, securing a nail-biting victory over GBR and Team Switzerland on a shortened-course sprint final.
Comfortably third off the line and through the first gate, Team NZL closed the gap at the end of the second leg as GBR and Switzerland battled out front. They led around the third mark and maintained their advantage the rest of the way, winning by nine seconds.
It marked the second time New Zealand has stolen the Brits’ home victory, after Burling beat Sir Ben Ainslie in Plymouth in Season 3.
All 12 national teams battled choppy waters, racecourse obstacles and a number of technical issues forcing speedy, pit-lane repairs. Australia missed out on their second consecutive event final, while usual heavyweights Spain also finished sixth.
With the results tallied, New Zealand moved into the top spot on the overall championship standings, bumping Australia to second and Spain to third. GBR remained in fourth, but has closed the gap, now just one point away from the podium group.
Record crowds turned out to watch the action on The Solent, with 20,000 ticketed fans attending the two-day event, plus thousands more watching from the water and from natural surrounding vantages.
The SailGP series now heads to its next European destination for the first-ever Germany event in the global championship’s history, taking place in Sassnitz, on the Baltic Sea, from August 16-17.
