Aussies continue their reign at the top of SailGP Season 4 leaderboard
SYDNEY – February 25, 2024 – Tom Slingsby and his Australian crew have been crowned the champions of the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix I Sydney, flying home in front of an ecstatic and vibrant Genesis Island crowd and a jam-packed Sydney Harbour to clinch the sensational win.
With the home crowd cheering them on,the Australian team finally secured its first win of the SailGP Season 4 in a dramatic final after missing out in the previous seven SailGP events – despite six podium finishes – to keep Australia at the top of the Season 4 leaderboard and 8 points ahead of closest rivals, New Zealand.
Thousands of Australian fans watched on from ‘Genesis Island’ and spectator boats as the ten strong fleet delivered dramatic racing for the final two qualifying fleet races. The super Sunday of racing all came down to a nail biting winner-takes-all Final Podium Race between Australia, New Zealand – driven by Nathan Outteridge – and Nicolai Sehested’s ROCKWOOL Denmark.
The thrilling final started with near fatal errors for trans tasman rivalry that saw early start penalties for both Australia and New Zealand to give ROCKWOOL Denmark an early lead. Slingby’s never die attitude meant that the Aussies didn’t give up as it judged a takeover on the Danes to utter perfection on Gate 3 to take the lead. The final minutes of the race were a drag race between Denmark and Australia, which eventually saw Australia cross the finish line in first place ahead of ROCKWOOL Denmark in second and New Zealand in third place.
Slingsby said: “To win after coming so close so many times and in front of our home crowd of Sydney with our family and friends watching, it really doesn’t get much better than this.”
“After the early start penalty, I was convinced it would be hard to get back in the race but the team did so well to set up so we could overtake the Danish to take the lead and get our first win of the season.”
Slingsby’s Australia team now has its sights firmly set on maintaining Season 4 lead as the team heads over the ditch for the ITM New Zealand Grand Prix I Christchurch on March 23-24. With four events left to go until the Season 4 Grand Final in San Francisco on 13-14 July, all is left to play for for teams to secure a seat in the winner-takes-all Grand Final as Australia battles to achieve a SailGP 4 peat.
KPMG AUSTRALIA SAIL GRAND PRIX I SYDNEY STANDINGS //
1 // Australia 10 points
2 // ROCKWOOL Denmark 9 points
3 // New Zealand 8 points
4 // France 7 points
5 // Spain 6 points
6 // Germany 5 points
7 // Emirates Great Britain 4 points
8 // Switzerland 3 points
9 // USA 2 points
10 // Canada 1 point
OVERALL SAILGP SEASON 4 STANDINGS //
1 // Australia 66 points
2 // New Zealand 58 points
3 // ROCKWOOL Denmark 52 points
4 // Spain 48 points
5 // France 45 points
6 // Emirates GBR 45 points
7 // USA 45 points
8 // Canada 38 points
9 // Germany 21 points
10 // Switzerland 17 points
ABOUT SAILGP // SailGP is the world’s most exciting racing on water. The global
championship features national teams battling in short, intense races at iconic stadium-style
venues across the globe. The high-tech, high-speed action features sailing’s best athletes
racing in identical hydrofoiling F50 catamarans, flying at speeds approaching 100 km/h. SailGP
also races for a better future, championing a world powered by nature. Visit SailGP.com for
more information.
