NZL top of the fleet on the Day 1 in Los Angeles SailGP
Peter Burling’s New Zealand has risen to the top of the fleet on the first day of racing in Los Angeles, mastering the tight racecourse of L.A. and shifty wind conditions to pick up two race wins.
Winds of 25 km/h gusting to 35 km/h buffeted the course as the 12-strong fleet lined up for the first time, with Burling’s Kiwi team executing stunning race starts to win the first two fleet races.
The Kiwis went from hero to zero with a performance blip in the third fleet race, picking up an OCS early start penalty alongside Switzerland and struggling to move through the fleet. They finished 9th overall, while Australia pipped Mubadala Brazil at the final turning mark to steal the race win.
But the Black Foils continued its masterclass in the fourth and final fleet race of the day, drag racing with Mubadala Brazil to Mark 1 and holding its position to finish second behind Quentin Delapierre’s France. The win in race four marked the French’s first since returning to the league at last month’s event in Sydney.
The Kiwis’ performance sees them lead the fleet heading into day two with a total of 31 points. But there’s everything to play for; NorthStar Canada and Australia are breathing down their necks with 28 and 27 points apiece.
In key racing stats, it was the Kiwis which picked up the highest average speed of the day - 59.68 km/h, Australia which sailed the shortest distance - 7.06 km/h, and NorthStar Canada which had the highest average fly time - 88.1%.
But it was disaster for ROCKWOOL DEN. While the team picked up the highest speed of the day - 85.3 km/h, the team smashed into a race mark in the first fleet race.
The impact caused serious damage to the team’s F50, ruling them out of racing for the rest of the day and earning them a 12 event point deduction and 8 point loss from their overall season score. It is understood the incident broke the tip of one of the foils, and it remains unknown if the team will return to the racetrack tomorrow.
Elsewhere, it was an improved performance for Taylor Canfield’s home team, which picked up 7-8-4-5 race results to finish the day in 7th. Diego Botin’s Spain meanwhile, winners of this event last season, had a mixed performance, finishing the day in 5th place overall with inconsistent 2-7-10-4 results.
The Rolex Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix is the first in a back-to-back Californian double header, with the Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix following immediately on March 22/23.
Racing in L.A. resumes at 2pm PDT on March 16.
