“A really tough weekend as a whole with the tricky nature of yesterday, but really proud of the way the team went back and reviewed that, and came into today with a really good attitude and we got one really strong race on the board,” Black Foils driver Peter Burling said.
“We’re not really quite sure why the second race didn’t happen. Normally there’s a technical problem or not enough wind so they’ve had to delay the period.
“They delayed the start a wee bit and we thought that was going to cram things up at the back end of the TV window but we’re pretty surprised they didn’t manage to get the full schedule in.”
The Black Foils had their best start of the weekend in their one race of the regatta’s second day as they were among the leaders at the first gate and were able to put themselves clear among the top three, with only a few teams able to find time on the foils.
While Phil Robertson’s Italian crew continued their strong form from day one to win the race, the Black Foils finished clear in third, with Great Britain able to pass the Kiwi crew on the third leg and cross the line in second. Robertson’s Italian team won three of the four races in Group A across the weekend to go into the podium race as the top qualifier.
In Group B, the Spanish missed out on a spot in the final despite two wins and a second on day one, after finishing last in their one group race on day two.
Group B’s lone race of the day became a battle for the minor placings as the United States were the only team to get up and foiling and cruised to an easy win. Germany and Denmark finished second and third, which saw the United States and Denmark progress into the final alongside Italy and Australia.
In the final, Robertson’s Italian crew were penalised for getting their timing wrong and crossing the starting line too early, allowing the league-leading Australians to take the early lead with the United States in second.
A decision to split the course on the penultimate leg made all the difference in the contest, with the United States taking the left turn to try and stay on their foils in a bid to gain on the Australians.
They did exactly that, taking the lead midway through the penultimate leg before shutting the door on the Australians around the final mark.
The United States took the win ahead of Australia, Italy and Denmark in that order, and moved inside the top three on the season leaderboard with three events left in the campaign.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.