Skill, tenacity, and perhaps some good fortune, delivered two race wins and a sixth place for Ben Ainslie’s Great Britain SailGP Team on the first day of racing in Dubai in the seventh event of SailGP’s third season.
The British team top the standings tonight on 25 points with Jimmy Spithill’s United States crew and Peter Burling’s New Zealand team in second and third respectively, both on 20 points.
With the warm waters off Dubai failing to deliver the forecast breezes the teams – racing with the largest 29 metre wing configuration – had to make do with 10 knots for the start of race one with the wind strength dropping slowly over the day to little over five knots by the start of the third race.
That meant none of the high-adrenaline crash and burn action the mainstream SailGP fans love to see, but there was still plenty to keep the sailing-initiated community entertained, nevertheless.
With what must be the shortest racecourse we have ever seen at a SailGP event – the course length was reportedly shorter than Dubai’s iconic skyscraper the Burj Khalifa is tall – getting off the line fast with a clear lane was even more important than ever today.
Read full report on SGP Insider
Main image © David Gray for SailGP