New Zealand trailing Australia at SailGP

Australia are top of the standings with New Zealand in second.
Photo: Bob Martin for SailGP

There was no Season 3 Championship party hangover for Tom Slingsby and the Australia SailGP Team as they claimed opening day honors in Chicago.

At the Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix at Navy Pier it was a familiar sight as the Aussies were joined at the top of the standings by last season’s runners-up New Zealand.

The Canada SailGP Team shrugged off recent uncertainty over its future to finish the day in third place after a win in race two for Phil Robertson.

Australia prevailed in the day’s other two races with only an uncharacteristic fifth place in race two – due to a pre-start error by Slingsby – keeping it within reach of the fleet.

The Australians will be tough to remove from the event final placings tomorrow.

Sail GP competition in Italy
Photo: Sail GP

“We had a great day. We sailed really well, it was beautiful today. The wind was blowing perfectly in line with the shore. It is an exciting start line where you have to decide if you start from inside or outside. I loved the race track,” Slingsby said.

Burling was similarly pleased with how his team had opened its season.

“It was an awesome day out there – really pleasing for us as a team. We sailed the boat really consistently on a challenging course, tried out a few different things and I think we saw that pay off in the results.”

It was a day to forget for Jimmy Spithill and the United States SailGP Team, as it finished ninth and tenth in the day’s first two races to sit in ninth at the end of day one.

Impact League champions ROCKWOOL Denmark SailGP Team led by Nicolai Sehested finished no lower than fifth place to end the day in fourth, while it was a difficult day for last season’s top contenders with Emirates Great Britain and France ending up in fifth and sixth.

Spain enjoyed a solid fourth placing in the final race of the day to sit seventh overall, while Switzerland ended the day in last place.