Flying Roos and Black Foils lead the way in Germany

The Bonds Flying Ross and Black Foils lead the way at the end of day one at the Germany Sail Grand Prix, on a bright and breezy day that featured a new record top speed being set for SailGP.

In Group B, Australia got off to a flier with a pair of wins in the first two races – but then finished sixth and last in the third. They lead Artemis Sweden by one point after Nathan Outteridge’s crew proved super-consistent with a trio of third places.

But the overnight standings are tight. NorthStar Canada, Emirates Great Britain, Deutsche Bank Germany and even the United States will still be hoping for a stellar Sunday to make the top two in the group and qualify for the four-boat final.

In Group A, running second on Saturday, New Zealand’s Black Foils won the opener and followed up with a second and fourth to top the group standings. DS Automobiles France won the second race – and in the third flew to a top speed of 107.63km/h (58.1 knots) to set a stunning new record in the league.

The French sit second in the standings ahead of Spain, who recovered from a poor opening two races to win the third in Group A.

Sassnitz turned it on for day one of the Rockwool Germany Sail Grand Prix. With winds topping 24 knots, the fleet went out on the 18-metre wingsails with high-speed foils and rudders. Emirates GBR had already clocked 56.6 knots (104.8km/h) in pre-race practice, breaking the race record. The question was whether anyone would do it again within a race.

Group A = Los Gallos, Explora Swiss, the Black Foils, DS Team France, ROCKWOOL Racing, Red Bull Italy, Mubadala Brazil

Group B = Artemis, NorthStar Canada, the US, BONDS Flying Roos, Germany, Emirates GBR.

Home team first, so Group B had the honours.

The Flying Roos nailed the start, rounded mark 1 in first and then absolutely sent it down the second leg, hitting 94km/h at first mark with NorthStar Canada right behind them. Not a good start for the home team, though: Germany sat last after a rocky opening tangled up with the Brits at the bottom of the line.

By the third leg the USA had taken second, but Giles Scott swooped in at gate 3 to put NorthStar ahead of the Americans. A splashdown after the next gate got loose and cost the Canadians metres, but they held second. Australia, meanwhile, were streaking away – 15 seconds clear of Canada and then 24 seconds ahead at the finish.

"Sassnitz really turns it on for us," said Tom Slingsby on the water, before adding that speed records weren't on the agenda: "If it happens organically, we'll take it, but we're not looking for it."

Nightmare finish for the US. Having sailed a tactically brilliant upwind leg, Taylor Canfield misjudged the final layline by a couple of seconds, slipped from second to fourth and let both Canada and Artemis get away. Dylan Fletcher’s crew put the pressure on the Americans but took fifth, with the home team dead last.

Race 1b
1 Australia
2 Canada
3 Sweden
4 United States
5 Great Britain
6 Germany

Switzerland and New Zealand nailed the start, rounding mark 1 side by side at close to 95km/h before the Black Foils surged ahead to lead. Spain, meanwhile, ended up near the back. Diego Botín pushed hard – perhaps too hard – and it looked like Los Gallos were about to steal third from France at gate 3, but the French had entered the zone first and Spain didn’t have the room to dive in and were handed a go-behind penalty.

With the Black Foils and Explora Swiss holding the front two spots to the finish, Red Bull Italy read the course well to jump to third ahead of France in fourth.

"Actually quite a nice first race," said Pete Burling after. "We're back, starting to perform more at the pointy end of the fleet."

That penalty cost Spain big time. Having briefly got up to third – illegally – they dropped to sixth and then behind Brazil to ultimately finish last. A rare mistake from the form team, a classic risky move that didn’t pay off this time, and it happened to be against their America's Cup mates at La Roche-Posay Racing Team.

Race 1a
1 New Zealand
2 Switzerland
3 Italy
4 France
5 Denmark
6 Brazil
7 Spain

Tom Slingsby executed the perfect start, controlling the fleet to cross in first, but Nathan Outteridge kept on his case down the second leg, the Swedes right behind the Aussies. Slingsby pushed Artemis wide at gate 2 and then darted inside so there was no overlap – tactical racing at 60km/h.

From there it was all about control. The Flying Roos looked rock solid stable while everyone else was getting thrown around in the gusts, a boat-handling masterclass the Roos made look effortless.

Emirates GBR had a rocky start in fifth but did a great job getting back, climbing to second by gate 3 and picking the right-hand turns all the way up the course.

Once again the Flying Roos took the race, well ahead of the chasing pack. The Brits needed a good result and that's what they got, crossing second six seconds ahead of Artemis in third. Another fourth for the US, another poor result for the Germans in fifth, and Canada last after digging the bow into the Baltic on a round-up.

Race 2b
1 Australia
2 Great Britain
3 Sweden
4 United States
5 Germany
6 Canada

France nailed it from the start. Quentin Delapierre was hammer down, hitting 94km/h before mark 1, and maintained control at the front from there. Much better from Spain in second after their last-place finish, but the Black Foils were chasing hard despite an early boundary penalty.

Massive gusts were piling down the course, and all teams were struggling to stay in control. Gate 3 was absolute carnage: Spain made a mess of the top mark, broke the boundary and dropped off the foils, while the Swiss had their own wobble, allowing Denmark to go from fifth to third.

Huge win for France. That was their first fleet race win since Perth at the start of the season. Also winners in Sassnitz last year, the big breeze seems to suit them. The Black Foils followed up their opening win with second, Rockwool Racing recovered well for third, form team Los Gallos had dropped to fourth by the finish, and Switzerland went from second to fifth.

Race 2a
1 France
2 New Zealand
3 Denmark
4 Spain
5 Switzerland
6 Italy
7 Brazil

Germany hadn't been doing well today, but they led the start and rounded mark 1 in first in front of the home crowd, 10km/h quicker than anyone around them. Behind them NorthStar and the US were pushing hard. Australia hit 100kmh at mark 1, the first to do so in racing, though in fourth. Behind them two more big teams, Emirates GBR and Artemis, were right at the back.

The Germans were given a penalty for sailing out of bounds, handing Canada the lead, but it didn't last: a big windshift gave Erik Heil a passing lane back past NorthStar and the home team held on to win by a wide margin. "It was a bad beginning to the day and we needed that to bring us back in the game," said Heil immediately after. “It was actually the only start we executed so I think I have to dive into starts tonight, and make some more starts possible tomorrow.”

Behind Germany it was much closer. NorthStar picked up their second podium of the day, while the US relinquished third in a crazy finish that saw Artemis and GBR slingshot around the Americans for third and fourth. And after back-to-back race wins, the Flying Roos finished dead last.

Race 3b
1 Germany
2 Canada
3 Sweden
4 Great Britain
5 United States
6 Australia

A squall came in for the final race of the day, and with it the big numbers. Denmark and Los Gallos rocketed off the line, but mark 1 was carnage. Rockwool Racing briefly set a new record at 106km/h before getting too high on the foils and losing control into a nosedive, then France went round at 107.63km/h – a whopping 58.1 knots and a new SailGP speed record.

France used that pace to lead, but Spain found the dark water on the left of the course and stole it from them by the midpoint. Los Gallos needed a result after a seventh and a fourth, and they held on to the finish, touching 100km/h on the final gate to win.

The Black Foils pushed France but Delapierre's crew held on to second, with Burling's squad third, and the Swiss snatched fourth from Italy right at the line.

Race 3a
1 Spain
2 France
3 New Zealand
4 Switzerland
5 Italy
6 Denmark
7 Brazil

So after six races and five different winners, the Black Foils and France top Group A, the Kiwis leading the overall leaderboard on 12 points. In Group B it's the Flying Roos and Artemis, with just one point between them after that sixth for Australia. Los Gallos looked a bit shaken after a couple of poor results, but turned it round at the end with a race win and sit just outside the top two.

Teams were absolutely sending it out there today, with France's 107.63km/h the new record to beat. Join us tomorrow for two more fleet races per group and the four-boat final to see who takes the title in Sassnitz.

Group A standings at the end of Day 1
1 New Zealand 12
2 France 11
3 Spain 7
4 Switzerland 7
5 Italy 4
6 Denmark 4
7 Brazil 0

Group B standings at the end of Day 1
1 Australia 10
2 Sweden 9
3 Canada 8
4 Great Britain 7
5 Germany 6
6 United States 5