Six winners from six races on Day 1 in Portsmouth

Six different winners from each of the six group races was proof of SailGP racing at its very best, after a brilliant opening day of action at the Portsmouth Sail Grand Prix on Saturday.

In Group A, Northstar Canada, Spain’s Los Gallos and New Zealand all took a win each, with the Black Foils topping the standings with 11 points, just one clear of the Canadians ahead of the second day.

The United States, Artemis Sweden and Emirates GBR shared the victories in Group B. Artemis are at the head of the standings on 13 points, with the United States second on 11.

Today the breeze was blowing almost 20 knots across the Solent. Similar to the Fremantle Doctor at the start of the season, but with flat water. Ideal conditions, in other words, for some proper racing. The F50s were rigged with the smallest 18m wings, high-speed foils and rudders, medium jibs, and a full crew of six on board.

This event also marks the debut of SailGP's new group racing format. Announced this week, the fleet will be split in two for the rest of the season, seeded by the previous event's results.

Group A = Los Gallos, Bonds Flying Roos, Black Foils, NorthStar, Red Bull Italy, ROCKWOOL Denmark, Mubadala Brazil

Group B = Artemis, Explora Swiss, the United States, Germany, DS Automobiles France, Emirates GBR

After five fleet races, the top two from each group go through to Sunday's winner-takes-all final.

Group A rocketed down the opening stretch at 90km/h for the opening race of the day, NorthStar squeezing in ahead of Mubadala Brazil at mark 1 and controlling the second leg.

Meanwhile, in this so-called 'Group of Death', Los Gallos and the Black Foils languished at the back, ahead only of Rockwool Denmark, who had to shake off an early-start penalty. Season leaders the Flying Roos pushed too hard on leg three, came up too high and dropped off the foils.

Red Bull Italy held second for the first half while the Kiwis and Spanish traded places behind. NorthStar looked comfortable, 10 seconds ahead at every gate, and just needed to sail smoothly. But Los Gallos, the best in the fleet at turning the F50 up into the breeze, seized second on pure boatspeed and hunted them to the line. Giles Scott held on by a single second. Italy took third and the Black Foils fourth.

Race 1a
1 Canada
2 Spain
3 Italy
4 New Zealand
5 Australia
6 Brazil
7 Denmark

The United States and Artemis went neck and neck off the line, a pure drag race to mark 1 with the Americans just ahead, and from there Taylor Canfield's crew broke clear down leg two. France picked up a penalty for sailing outside the boundary, a mistake they repeated again later in the race.

The fleet split on leg three, the Americans taking the right while Artemis led down the other side – a call that didn't pay for the Swedes, who dropped to third as the Swiss crossed ahead. Artemis clawed back to second by the end, but Canfield took a comfortable win, finishing ahead of the Swedes by 14 seconds.

“It doesn't matter what the format is for us, you know – we've got to go out and push,” said Canfield after. “We're happy with how we're sailing. We made a mistake at one point, but we were able to regroup and then get back into the race.”

Seb Schneiter's crew completed the podium, a strong first result for the Swiss. Meanwhile it wasn’t a great look for the home team: Dylan Fletcher's Brits were mid-fleet throughout and finished fourth.

Race 1b
1 United States
2 Sweden
3 Switzerland
4 Great Britain
5 France
6 Germany

NorthStar nailed the start again, bombing down the opening stretch at 90km/h and rounding mark 1 clear, with Los Gallos in hot pursuit and Denmark third.

Red Bull Italy were penalised after a scary near-miss, Phil Robertson failing to give Pete Burling's Black Foils room at the bottom gate. The Kiwis moved into third shortly after.

Once again Botín's crew refused to let the Canadians go, and the two split the course into the penultimate leg. What followed was deathly tight – the two F50s nearly touching as they converged, Botín manoeuvring just ahead and dropping NorthStar off their foils in the process.

“They were pushing the boat so hard,” Botín said after. “It was very close.” Los Gallos took the win, and heartbreak for the Canadians: leading almost start to finish, they drifted across the line as the Kiwis, Aussies and Italians sailed past – outside the top four, and no points.

Race 2a
1 Spain
2 New Zealand
3 Australia
4 Italy
5 Canada
6 Denmark
7 Brazil

France blocked the Americans at the start to cross the line first, but it was Artemis who rounded mark 1 in front. Switzerland and Germany followed, with the US crew keeping the pressure on, hunting any opening and climbing to third by the midpoint, hot on the heels of the Swiss.

While the fleet scrapped behind, Nathan Outteridge's crew simply stretched away – clean, mistake-free sailing for a decisive win. “Just sail the boat as fast as you can,” was how Outteridge summed up the approach. “And let the rest take care of itself.”

Explora Swiss held on for second, a result that at that stage had them in a qualifying spot alongside Artemis, with the Americans third. For the home team, their second race was even worse. “Not good enough,” Fletcher was overheard on the comms as the Brits crossed the line dead last.

Race 2b
1 Sweden
2 Switzerland
3 United States
4 Germany
5 France
6 Great Britain

The Black Foils nailed the start, while NorthStar produced another rocket launch, hitting 95km/h into mark 1 in second – before being immediately handed a boundary penalty. But it barely dented them, Giles Scott sailing smart to hold second throughout and keep the Kiwis honest.

Even with a reduced fleet there was plenty happening in the pack: Los Gallos were penalised for not giving Mubadala Brazil space, and the Brazilians then nearly piled into Red Bull Italy at the bottom mark, both crews swerving to avoid a collision.

The Black Foils flew a near-perfect race – 100 per cent flight time – to take the win, as Canada kept their nerve to hold onto second. And after a middling start the Flying Roos found their pace, sailing 4km/h quicker than the rest of the fleet to claw back third, while the winners of the previous race, Los Gallos, crossed sixth to take zero points.

Race 3a
1 New Zealand
2 Canada
3 Australia
4 Denmark
5 Italy
6 Spain
7 Brazil

Redemption for the Brits as Fletcher's crew nailed their start and rounded mark 1 just behind Germany, knowing only a strong result would keep any hope of Sunday's final alive.

The Germans led for a moment, then came within inches of capsizing, the F50 standing almost on end before a remarkable save that nevertheless dumped them to the back of the fleet.

From that point the Brits stayed up front, chased hard by Artemis, the Americans and the Swiss, and held on to salvage their day with a win in front of 10,000 fans on the shoreline. A rocky day for the French, too, who usually thrive in the big breeze but sat at the back all afternoon, finishing fifth in their final race, ahead only of the Germans after their near-capsize.

Race 3b
1 Great Britain
2 Sweden
3 United States
4 Switzerland
5 France
6 Germany

Six races with six different winners show just how tight this fleet is. “I kind of take offence when people talk about us having an easy group,” Nathan Outteridge said on the water today. “There's a lot of good sailors in both groups, so I think that's a little unfair!”

And it’s true – that 'Group of Death' theory didn't seem to match up with the racing. After three races each, it's the Kiwis and Canadians on course to qualify from Group A, as season leaders the Flying Roos and season four champions Los Gallos fell short.

Meanwhile Artemis and the Americans currently hold the spots in Group B. A tough day for the Brits in front of their home crowd, who finished fourth in their group, with only France and Germany, both of whom struggled badly, behind them.

But it's not over yet: two more fleet races for each group tomorrow before the four-boat final.

Group A at the end of Day 1
1 New Zealand 11
2 Canada 10
3 Spain 9
4 Australia 7
5 Italy 6
6 Denmark 2
7 Brazil 0

Group B at the end of Day 1
1 Sweden 13
2 United States 11
3 Switzerland 9
4 Great Britain 7
5 France 3
6 Germany 2