Tom Slingsby laments ‘tech issues’ as Spain blitz SailGP’s top dogs, Grand Final takes shape

Australia have fought back at the SailGP event in Bermuda and have one foot in the season decider despite tech issues hurting their boat.

Australia’s quest for a SailGP four-peat is back on track following a solid third placed result at SailGP Bermuda on Monday morning (AEST).

After copping a controversial nine-point penalty in the overall standings for a crash in Christchurch at the last event, the pressure was on the Aussies to get some points on the board.

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The three-time SailGP champions topped the leaderboard after the first day of fleet races in Bermuda and qualified for the event final on day two against Spain and New Zealand.

New Zealand’s ‘Black Foils’ came from the back of the pack in the fifth fleet race to grab Canada’s spot in the final.

Spain’s skipper Diego Botin got his team off to a flyer in the final, coming round the back of the other two boats, nailing his timing at the start line and flying down the inside to get to Mark 1 first.

The Spanish team crossed the finish line ahead of New Zealand and Australia to claim their second event win of the season.

Spain nailed the start to win SailGP Bermuda.

Australian team driver Tom Slingsby said unexpected tech issues plagued the Aussie F50 boat and hindered their performance.

“I do think there were some settings that were changed overnight somehow,” Slingsby said.

“Not to take away from Spain’s win, they nailed that last start and were the best team. We had issues with our boards and our wind instruments were all out and on top of that we just didn’t feel like we had boat speed.

“We’ve got to go back and look at the data and figure out if we were doing something wrong or if our boat configuration settings were wrong. It’s amazing how different the boat felt today compared to yesterday, so there is a lot for us to dive into and look at.

“We are happy to get a podium finish in our first event back after Christchurch. But if you think we are happy to say end the season in third place overall, I can tell you that’s not correct. We’ve got a lot of work to do to catch the Kiwis but we embrace that challenge.”

Spain’s SailGP team helmed by Diego Botin can mix it with the big dogs. Photo: Felix Diemer for SailGP.

Despite the Aussies not being able to lift the Bermuda championship wheel this weekend, their solid performance and podium finish this weekend has allowed them to maintain their second position in the Season 4 leaderboard, 10 points behind their Kiwi rivals.

The league will now head the Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax on June 1-2, which marks the eleventh stop of the global racing league.

From there, only one event remains in New York, before all teams meet and battle for a spot in the season four Grand Final in San Francisco on July 13-14.

Australia, Spain and New Zealand are on a collision course for the Grand Final. Photo: Samo Vidic for SailGP.

Spain has shown in can mix it with SailGP’s top dogs and is know a clear third in the overall standings and on track to qualify for the Grand Final along with New Zealand and Australia.

“I am just fully focused on us getting to the point where we can go out and know we can execute consistently and most of that is on me with nailing starts and having my tactics on point,” Slingsby said.

“As a team we need to try to raise our performance to another level.”

Team USA was unable to race in Bermuda after their boat sustained significant wing damage from a horror capsize in practice that saw the crew members plummet from their positions on the boat.

SALGP SEASON 4 LEADERBOARD

New Zealand — 77 points

Australia — 67 points

Spain — 65 points

Denmark — 56 points

France — 56 points

Canada — 53 points

USA — 49 points

Great Britain — 48 points

Germany —32 points

Switzerland — 26 points