The one million dollar thriller: Who will win outside San Francisco? There can only be one: Slingsby, Spithill or Outteridge!

The first of two days of racing at the final SailGP summit on Saturday had one main significance: determining the third finalist for the race of all races. This decision has been made. Nathan Outteridge and his Team Japan secured the third starting place after the previously qualified SailGP teams from Australia and the USA with a strong performance. Given their good third position in the season standings, this was no longer a huge surprise, but still had to be realised in a racing series in which capsizes and crash situations are not uncommon. It was a success - and the dream finale on the evening of 27 March was perfect. The one-million-dollar showdown will take place at midnight German time after two final races of the season for the entire SailGP fleet (from 11 p.m., transmission starts at 10.30 p.m.) and will be broadcast live online on various channels. For example here on the SailGP homepage (please click).

On the first day of the regatta, it was not only the Japanese, who were in good form, who were able to put themselves in the limelight with 6th and 2nd place and a win on the day, improving from race to race. The crisis-ridden Spaniards, who had prematurely relieved their master and helmsman Phil Robertson of his duties and sent him home, also impressed on the water with their new helmsman: 470 helmsman Jordi Xammar led the Spanish team to second place in the intermediate classification on day one of the eighth and final summit of the second SailGP season with 8th, 3rd and 2nd place. No one has ever achieved such a successful debut at the helm of the SailGP as convincingly as the 470 bronze medallist from the last Olympic Games, who is currently regarded as the measure of all things in the new Olympic 470 mixed discipline with his foresailor Nora Brugman. The 470 dinghy has not exactly been regarded as the ideal springboard for a SailGP career. Xammar shows that sailing excellence can indeed be transferable. For the Spaniards, Xammar's performance is promising for the coming season. The way they chased Phil Robertson out of the team prematurely was less well received internationally.

The New Zealander Phil Robertson, known in the scene as an accomplished and aggressive helmsman and teacher of the Spaniards, who will be in action for the new Canadian SailGP team in the coming season, defended himself against his unpleasant dismissal via Facebook on Saturday. The former match race world champion, known to German sailing fans as the winner of Match Race Germany 2012 and for years as a likeable crowd favourite, wrote in response to the public accusations of arrogance levelled in his direction:"I'm really disappointed that I won't have the opportunity this weekend to finish what I started with the Spanish SailGP team. For a professional sports team to 'focus' on next season instead of fighting for this season's championship baffles me and always will. We are in a sport with many variables at play. I still firmly believe that we would have had a chance to win this championship this weekend. A capsize, a crash, a mechanical failure are now commonplace in this series. After all, it's sport. Anything can happen, especially in San Francisco Bay. I have put my heart and soul into this team. I have taught them everything I know and brought a very young and inexperienced group to a level where we could compete with the best in the world. I respect and accept their decision to replace me for the final weekend. What I cannot accept are the words that have been spoken about my character and my departure. I feel dishonoured and disrespected. Respect is earned, not freely given." Despite a good opening performance by Jordi Xammar at the wheel, the Spaniards were unable to snatch the third final ticket from the Japanese.

After the last two fleet races, the results of which will only have an impact on the placings in the season standings, almost everything is set for the showdown on Sunday evening: Tom Slingsby, the victorious sailing jack-of-all-trades and 2021 World Sailor of the Year, Jimmy "Spitfire" Spithill and the "wind whisperer" Nathan Outteridge will lead their teams from Australia, the USA and Japan into the triple final if they and their boats come through the last two fleet races unscathed. The previous season's performances will then no longer play a role:A single race will decide which team takes home the one million US dollars in prize money. If you're still awake late on Sunday evening, this will be the sporting thriller of the evening!

A summary of the first day of sailing off San Francisco with lots of sound bites from the sailors can be found here (please click!).