Celebrating the victory, the Black Foils pilot Peter Burling said: “This weekend was our last chance to compete in the finals before San Francisco. We started well three times, and then sailed cleanly. But it was definitely very difficult to control, with all the waves of the ferry and the turbulence of the current and the water, so I’m really proud of the team: we’re going to carry this momentum to San Francisco. We won’t go to the final just to be there, we want to go there to win it. We know that the last race is the only one that really matters.” The penultimate event of Season 4, the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, marked the “coming of age” for the world racing championship, which landed for the first time in the city in 2019.
A sold-out event on both days, around 8,000 fans traveled to the purpose-built Race Stadium on Governors Island to witness first-hand the most thrilling racing on the water, with more fans watching from the water and from vantage points that they hug the shoreline of Manhattan. Thrilling crowds with an unmissable blend of sport and entertainment, the weekend offered action-packed racing, as well as live entertainment and world-class hospitality in partnership with Tao Group and the iconic outdoor food market, Smorgasburg.
The weekend’s results added even more drama in the fleet-wide “Battle for Third” with $2 million on the line, the largest prize pool in the sport. Despite missing out on the final, a commanding victory for Flying Roo in Fleet Race 4 was crucial for the Australian crew, with the pilot Tom Slingsby who commented: “Somehow those points worked out quite well for us, we got a little bit lucky from this event.” “We tried to get some momentum going into San Francisco and we didn’t succeed, but we just have to remember that we have a very good track record in San Francisco and the team has a lot of confidence there, so we will go in with confidence,” continued Slingsby. Slipping from second to third place in the overall standings, Spain has now opened the door to Quentin Delapierre’s France, who finished fifth in New York, with just five points separating the two teams.
Spaniard Diego Botin said: “I think the position we’re in will make us super well prepared for San Francisco. We will look at everything in depth because it will be a great battle.” Despite an impressive performance on the opening day of racing in New York, there were further blows in the final for driver Phil Robertston and the Canada SailGP Team. Despite topping the event standings on Sunday, the Canadians were unable to secure what could have been a momentous victory in rival waters. Always a maverick, Robertson he remained optimistic about his chances for a position in San Francisco. “Obviously it was a great weekend for us,” Robertson said. “We performed very well in the regatta, but the three finals are difficult. I was in a position to attack the Kiwis and I actually decided not to – which is probably a bit out of character – because I thought we might have a chance of pushing them over. We’re climbing the ladder and we put it together this weekend; It’s something we’re really proud of.”
For the US SailGP Team, New York marked the first of two consecutive home events. Despite a challenging home debut, the pilot Taylor Canfield said: “We look forward to staying in the United States for the next one. To be here in front of all the crowd and all the support we’re getting for San Francisco, it’s amazing. So, we ask fans to be patient a little longer! It’s coming!” “From what we know, we’re excited about a stable, windy location, so it should be exciting,” Canfield said. All ticket categories for the Season 4 finale in San Francisco are on sale now, available on SailGP .com/SanFrancisco.
SEASON 4 CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE AFTER THE MUBADALA NEW YORK SAIL GRAND PRIX1 // New Zealand 93 points2 // Australia 78 points3 // Spain 76 points4 // France 71 points5 // Canada 67 points6 // ROCKWOOL Denmark 67 points7 // Emirates Great Britain 66 points8 // United States 51 points9 // Germany 35 points10 // Switzerland 33 points
SAILGP SEASON 4 IMPACT LEAGUE RANKING //1 // ROCKWOOL Denmark // 454 points2 // Switzerland // 432 points3 // Emirates Great Britain // 420 points4 // France // 411 points5 // Australia // 404 points6 // New Zealand // 390 points7 // Germany // 385 points8 // United States // 381 points9 // Canada // 369 points10 // Spain // 341 points
