‘Someone’s going to get burnt by it’: Aussie skipper calls for SailGP Grand Final change

Australian sailing star Tom Slingsby has called for a change to SailGP’s Grand Final, arguing teams “are going to get burnt” by it.

Australia’s SailGP skipper Tom Slingsby has called for a change to SailGP’s winner-takes-all grand final, declaring “teams are going to get burnt” by the format.

Team Australia won the first two seasons of SailGP and is on track for a third straight championship as the third edition of the worldwide sailing competition dubbed ‘F1 on water’ reaches its climax.

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But winning isn’t getting any easier for the all-conquering Aussies, who have a nine-point lead over New Zealand with three events remaining this season.

Australia and New Zealand have won three events each so far in season three and appear on a collision course to face off in the season finale, along with a third team — most likely the ultra-consistent Great Britain.

The top three teams on the overall pointscore will race each other one race in San Francisco in May for USD$1million (A$1.4m) in prize money.

The winner-takes-all format means a team can lead the pointscore the entire season but walk away with nothing if they don’t win the grand final.

Tom Slingsby wants to see a change to SailGP’s format. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)

Australia has thrived in the high pressure situation in previous seasons but Slingsby wants the SailGP championship to be decided on aggregate at the end of the season, similar to football’s English Premier League.

“The million dollar race, it’s a one-off race,” Slingsby told news.com.au.

“We would love for it to be aggregate points throughout the season. We’ve got a nice lead in the overall points with a few events to go.

“We would love if it was done on season points after San Francisco. But the way it works is the top three go into that final million dollar race shootout and anyone can win.

“Season one and two, we won the pointscore heading into the final race of the season and then we ended up winning the million dollar race. So it felt kind of justified. We’re just hoping to do the same thing again.

“For sure, teams are going to get burnt by this in the future. We knew the rules when we signed up.

“You can win the whole season long and lose the million dollar race and walk away with nothing. There’s zero dollars for second place in this scenario.

“But we all signed knowing the rules and we know that all through the year in the lead up, it’s just getting ready, setting yourself up for that final full pressure moment in San Francisco.”

Can the Aussies make it three SailGP championships in a row? (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Asked if it makes his job as Australia’s driver more stressful given the entire season comes down to a single race, Slingsby said: “It does a little, for sure. But we’ve performed well in that scenario.

“It’s just the way it is in sport. Someone’s going to get off the line well and someone’s not going to.

“I’ve just got to do everything I can in my power and everyone in our team individually have to do their job well and we’re got to work together as a team well.

“If we do, we’re confident that we’re going to be pretty hard to beat in that final race. It’s exciting but it’s also a bit nerve-racking.”

Slingsby’s argument is a sign of how highly he rates the Kiwis and Great Britain, led by four-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie.

Australia has developed a fierce rivalry with Peter Burling’s New Zealand, who haven’t been afraid to take it up to the Aussies with aggressive tactics on the water.

“For sure, the Kiwis are the strongest team we’re up against at the moment,” Slingsby said.

“But GBR and Ben Ainslie are someone you can never count out, especially if he makes that final million dollar race.

New Zealand and Australia have developed an intense rivalry. Photo: Bob Martin for SailGP. Handout image supplied by SailGP

“He’s won some big events in his career, a lot of gold medals under lot of pressure. So a million dollar race is right up his alley. Lots of pressure, lots of hype on one single race. I think he’ll be pretty strong in that scenario.

“For me, the Kiwis and Ben Ainslie are the ones I’d watch for the most. Then we've got the French team and Denmark lurking in the overall pointscore. They could both easily make that final race too, but I’d say they’re more outside chances.”

SailGP season three continues in Sydney this weekend, with racing on Saturday and Sunday afternoon on Sydney Harbour.

SailGP season 3 leaderboard

Australia - 68 points

New Zealand - 59 points

Great Britain - 54 points

France - 53 points

Denmark - 51 points

Canada - 45 points

United States - 43 points

Spain - 24 points

Switzerland - 23 points