‘It’s magic’ as NZ wins Singapore SailGP

Peter Burling felt the strength of his SailGP shone through as they stormed to an impressive regatta win in Singapore on Sunday.

The Kiwis picked up a third in the last fleet race to qualify for the final and then produced a magic start to dominate the medal race, seeing off Denmark and Singapore.

Their third regatta win of the season strengthened their grip on second place on the points table, narrowing defending champion Australia’s lead to nine points.

There are just three events left – the next in Sydney on February 18-19, followed by Christchurch in March and the season final in San Francisco in May where the top three teams contest a US$1m winner-takes-all race.

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New Zealand’s victory in Singapore was all the more remarkable as they overcame a 4-points handicap after being penalised for crashing into the United States during practice.

“We’ve been sailing well all week. It’s a shame to have those penalty points, but it’s good to come out and show what we’ve got and how strong this team actually is,” declared a delighted Burling.

“We thought we were a good show today and everyone did a magic job. It all came together.”

The practice mishap apart, the Kiwis made a seamless transition back into racing after a seven-week break in the championship.

This was Asia’s debut in the global league and didn’t disappoint with good crowds on the downtown city foreshore.

The winds were again light on the second day of the regatta but strengthened for the final, making testing conditions for the three boats that still had their large wing sails on.

The Kiwis didn’t make a mistake from start to finish as they stayed on their foils throughout, recorded an average speed of 53kph and top speed of 77.1kph.

A bad manoeuvre by Aussies on the third leg of the race cost them any chance of catching the Kiwis and Denmark crashed into the water at gate three, allowing New Zealand to extend their lead to over 100m.

SailGP season three points after 8 of 11 events: Australia 68, New Zealand 59, Gt Britain 54, France 53, Denmark 51, Canada 45, United States 43, Spain 24, Switzerland 23.