It was the third victory in the third SailGP season for the New Zealand SailGP team led by America's Cup dominators Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. The Kiwis celebrated a furious comeback in Singapore after colliding with the Americans in training and therefore having to start the regatta with a severe penalty of minus four points. The New Zealanders turned the deficit before the first starting signal into a dream victory.
Peter Burling: "We were able to show what we can do"
Helmsman Peter Burling said after the gala final against Denmark and record winners Australia: "It's an incredible feeling to have achieved this today. Everyone in the team did a great job. We sailed consistently all day. It's a shame that we got these penalty points for the season. But it's good that we were able to show what we're capable of and how strong our team really is."
The 49er Olympic champion and America's Cup defender Burling, otherwise known for his iron nerves, admitted that he was "most nervous" when the pressure of 33 kilometres per hour of wind built up in the pre-start phase and all the crews struggled to "depower" their large 29-metre wings.
The Australian team led by previous SailGP dominator Tom Slingsby managed the fastest start in the triple final at 63 kilometres per hour. Denmark was the first team to cross the line. But it was ultimately the Kiwis who had the best angle to the first turning mark. And that was - as is so often the case in the fast-paced SailGP races - more than half the battle for victory.
Successful comeback for Denmark
A bad manoeuvre by the Australians on the third final leg threw the two-time SailGP season winners back to the back of the field, before Denmark fell off the foils at mark three and the Kiwis were able to extend their lead to over 100 metres. For the Danish team led by the likeable sailing professional and farmer Nicolai Sehested, second place in Singapore means a successful comeback after a long dry spell. The last time the Danish SailGP team finished on the podium was in August 2022 at the Rockwool Denmark Sail Grand Prix.
The Australians remain top of the standings in third place in Singapore, which was particularly impressive after the loss of regular wing trimmer Kyle Langford due to injury. Things went less well in Singapore for Sir Ben Ainslie and his British SailGP team, who had to settle for fifth place.
Swiss celebrate first race win in the SailGP
The fourth-placed Swiss team led by Sebastian Schneiter made a better impression, celebrating their first race win in the first race on day two and following it up with second place in the second race. The crew, who benefited from the outstanding decisions of their Australian strategist Nathan Outteridge, missed out on their first entry into a SailGP final by just two points.
After the SailGP in Singapore, all nine teams in the professional league have now won at least one race. This shows how the performances of the teams that joined later are also steadily improving. Quentin Delapierre's French team, which has been so formidable of late, was unusually weak, finishing eighth overall with a record of 7-9-4-6 and thus losing its third place in the overall standings.
Jimmy Spithill's US team was also unable to withstand the "now or never" pressure and failed to finish higher than seventh place in Singapore. This means that the American team's chances of reaching the big one-million-dollar final in San Francisco in May are as good as over.
In the updated SailGP season standings, Australia remains the leader with 68 points. New Zealand moved up to second place with 59 points. Great Britain pushed France out of the top three and is in third place with 54 points, while France dropped to fourth place. The third SailGP season will continue on 18 and 19 February with the Australian summit in Sydney. This will be followed by the SailGP in New Zealand in March, before the grand finale off San Francisco from 6 to 8 May.
