Stage set for $3 million SailGP Grand Final showdown between Aussies Kiwis

The stage is set for a battle royale between three-time champs Australia and the dominant Kiwis at the winner-takes-all SailGP Grand Final.

Matthew Sullivan

3 min read

June 24, 2024 - 2:47PM

Australia and New Zealand are set to battle it out in the Grand Final of SailGP season four.

Australia are on track to qualify for the winner takes all SailGP Grand Final after a solid result at the New York event kept their hopes of a championship four-peat alive.

New Zealand claimed a fifth event win of the season with a clinical performance as SailGP returned to the Hudson River in New York City.

The Kiwis won the final race ahead of Canada and Great Britain, while Australia finished the fleet races in fourth.

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The Australians faced another set of challenges on Sunday in New York, being penalised in the first fleet race for crossing the start line early alongside the Americans.

Technical issues continued to plague Slingsby and the Flying Roo, making it difficult for the team to see the boundary markers on an already tricky racecourse, resulting in a ninth-place finish in fleet race four.

The Australians managed to manoeuvre themselves from the back of the pack to secure an impressive first place finish in the final fleet race, narrowly missing out on the Final by four points to Canada, New Zealand, and Emirates Great Britain.

Despite the setbacks, Australia’s qualification for July’s three-team winner-takes-all Grand Final looks promising for Slingsby and his crew to compete in San Francisco for a fourth successive SailGP Championship.

Australia had a solid but far from perfect weekend in New York. Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images/AFP.

Slingsby said: “I’m glad we were able to turn it around for race two today after a really tough first race. While we managed to get back into the points, unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to make the final but it was a good comeback by the team.

“Somehow the points worked out pretty well for us, considering everything that was happening heading into the last fleet race and our tech issues. I think we were almost going to be knocked out of the top three and back in eighth place, but then to win the last fleet race, jump four places, and then a couple of our close rivals didn’t have a good race; it all worked out for us and we got a bit lucky out of this event.”

Despite missing the New York final, Australia has reclaimed second place behind frontrunners and rivals New Zealand in the overall standings, sitting ahead of Spain by just two points.

“Obviously it would’ve been nice to make another three-boat final this weekend ahead of the Grand Final,” Slingsby said.

“New Zealand has made quite a lot this year and we haven’t so they are naturally going to be a bit sharper in that regard but we’ve been successful in the Final race, so we need to draw on that experience and hope it’s enough.”

New Zealand have won four events this SailGP season. Photo: Ricardo Pinto for SailGP.

Australia pipped New Zealand in last year’s Grand Final, and the Kiwis are in ominous form and look poised to break Australia’s stranglehold on the league.

“We’ve been trying to gain momentum heading into the Grand Final and we haven’t really got that, but we’ve got to remember we have a pretty good track record in San Francisco and the team has got a lot of confidence to win there. We’re entering the Grand Final with our sights set on victory,” Slingsby said.

Following 12 events racing around the world, next up the 10-strong F50 fleet returns to San Francisco on 13-14 July to decide the ultimate winner of Season 4 and battle it out for a US$2 million (A$3 million) prize pot.

Five fleet races will take place across the two-day spectacle, propelling the top three teams into the championship-deciding winner-takes-all Grand Final showdown.

As three-time defending SailGP Champions, Australia is on track to compete against Spain and New Zealand to retain the Championship trophy and regain its dominance over the league.

New Zealand skipper Peter Burling said: “We know the last race is the only one that really matters now. We’d obviously love to win the San Fran event as well but we’re really eyes towards the final.”