Emirates GBR has secured its second consecutive event win in the three-boat Final in Taranto at the Italian SailGP regatta.
However, the race was terminated due to light winds, resulting in the top three teams, namely Australia, the United States, and Emirates GBR, failing to reach the third gate within the 16-minute race time limit. As a result, the top team from the fifth fleet race, Emirates GBR, clinched the overall event win, while Australia and the United States finished second and third, respectively.
Emirates GBR was the highest-performing team throughout the weekend, finishing never below third throughout all five fleet races. Ben Ainslie, the driver of the winning team, praised his squad's commendable efforts throughout the competition, saying, "The team did a great job all weekend - certainly we were lucky in that last race." He also lauded his team's consistency throughout the event.
Although Race Day 2 was entirely different from the high-octane racing of Taranto's opening day, Emirates GBR repeated their impressive opening day performance, securing a race win and a second-place finish in the final two fleet races. Meanwhile, the United States team, led by Jimmy Spithill, made a commendable comeback after an athlete's injury on day one, securing a third and first-place finish in fleet racing.
France was set to take the third place in the Final, but Canada pipped Quentin Delapierre's team to the finish line in Fleet Race 5, resulting in the United States taking the third position instead. Despite being unable to complete the Final, Spithill's team finished third overall, the team's best result since Sydney in Season 3.
Spain also proved itself as a light wind specialist, making a comeback from its 8-8-7 record on Race Day 1, securing a second and third-place finish in the last two fleet races.
SailGP fans can witness the F50 fleet in action at the Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía Cádiz, scheduled on October 14-15.
