New Zealand SailGP team driver Peter Burling says strategy could play a big part in this weekend's racing in San Francisco. Photo / SailGP
New Zealand SailGP team driver Peter Burling says strategy could play a big part in this weekend's racing in San Francisco. Photo / SailGP
Peter Burling isn’t taking anything for granted.
When he takes to the water with the New Zealand SailGP team in San Francisco this weekend, they do so at short odds of qualifying for the three-team $1 million shootout at the end of the regatta.
Heading into the final event ofthe season, the Kiwis sit second in the season standings with 73 points. While they trail two-time defending champions Australia by 11, the top three teams qualify for the final race, with positioning of that top three irrelevant when they line up in the starting box.
France are currently third on 69 and look set for a battle against Great Britain (68) for the final spot.
While the New Zealand team’s four-point buffer over France should see them through to the final, Burling said it still wasn’t guaranteed as they head into the fleet races.
“I think strategy could play a big part. From our side of things, we hope it doesn’t need too much. We’re definitely keen to put our best foot forward and make our life relatively easy,” Burling told the Herald.
“If we’re in the top half of the fleet, essentially it’s job done for us on making it through. We know we’ve definitely got a nice little buffer there but things happen pretty quickly, as we’ve seen in Sydney.
“If something isn’t working on your boat or you have one or two too many big mistakes, it can erode pretty quickly. So we’re definitely not being complacent on that front.”
New Zealand SailGP team will look to take out the season title this weekend in San Francisco. Photo / Bob Martin/SailGP
Unlike every other event on the calendar, the San Francisco regatta does not have an event final. Instead, the standings after the five fleet races determine the event placings, with the $1m shootout being contested at its conclusion as a standalone race.
“This weekend, our main thing is obviously to get through to the final ... then the focus will very quickly shift to trying to win it.”
It’s been a big turnaround for the New Zealand team this season after a mid-fleet finish in their debut campaign. While they went into the San Francisco regatta with a mathematical chance of making the grand final last year, Burling admitted they went there with a focus on building toward the new season.
That decision seems to have paid off, with New Zealand claiming three event wins and two more podiums through 10 events so far this year.
All going well, the group could return home with two trophies for the season, with the on-water competition as well as the impact league title being within their reach.
The New Zealand SailGP team won the Impact League last season. Photo / Bob Martin/SailGP
The New Zealand team won the impact league last season – an additional contest that reflects the positive actions taken by teams to reduce their overall carbon footprint and help accelerate inclusivity in sailing.
“We’ve put a good effort into the final and now it’ll just be up to the judges as to who they deem has done a slightly better job. There’s only a couple of points in it at the moment,” Burling said.
“It’s one that nonetheless we’re incredibly proud of the effort that our team’s done and we’re just hoping we come out on the right side of it.”
