SailGP Cadiz: Black Foils bounce back to finish second in Spain

The Black Foils’ quest for another opportunity at a SailGP season title is almost complete.

With a second-placed finish in Cadiz, Spain, this morning, the New Zealand SailGP team have moved back inside the top-two for the season with one event left on the calendar.

Heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi next month, which sees the top three teams on the leaderboard compete in the grand final shootout at its conclusion, the Black Foils now hold a six-point buffer on fourth place. It’s not an unassailable gap, but things would have to go very wrong for the Kiwi crew in Abu Dhabi to miss out on a spot in the biggest race of the season.

“We’re definitely happy to take away second. It was a bit of mixed feelings crossing the finish line, but we were so eager after Geneva to just get straight back into racing,” Black Foils strategist Liv Mackay said.

“It’s definitely a good feeling with the team right now and we’ll have to wait for that season final now and the build-up into that, but it’s been a good weekend.”

The Black Foils came into the campaign’s penultimate event looking to bounce back after a forgettable campaign in Geneva two weeks ago in which they matched their worst-ever finish on the global foiling circuit.

But while consistency was hard to come by in Geneva, it was the Black Foils’ saviour in Cadiz. The New Zealand team didn’t win a single race over the weekend, but were in the top three for four of their seven full-fleet contests to sneak into the podium race.

The Black Foils finished second behind season leaders Great Britain, who claimed their third event win of the season, with Germany backing up their win in Geneva with a third in Cadiz.

It was a competitive final race; the Black Foils making the best start but in trying to force Germany wide off the starting line opened the door for the British – who had to start at the back after a boundary penalty in the pre-start.

The British had taken the lead by the third leg, but the Kiwis kept fighting and reclaimed the lead through the back end of the race. Neither team could build a big lead, and the British were able to pull off an aggressive move around the final gate to undercut the Black Foils, take the lead, and sail on home for the win.

The move also meant the Black Foils lost a lot of speed having to give way to the British and almost saw the Germans sneak into second, but the Kiwis were able to hold on for the extra point. It was a fitting finish to an entertaining day of racing, which saw a mix of winners and plenty of overtakes.

“We went out and executed the final pretty much exactly the way we wanted to with those right turns at the bottom and took a massive loss every time, which was a bit frustrating,” Black Foils driver Peter Burling said.

“But I think we’re really pleased with the way we’ve managed to get that practice this weekend. If you’re going to have a bad one, it’s nice to be here and not on the next event, so yeah, looking forward to getting into Abu Dhabi now.”

Great Britain now sit comfortably atop the season standings with 85 points, ahead of the Black Foils on 82, with Australia on 80 after a forgettable campaign in Cadiz. Spain are the only other team who can still make the grand final, but on 76 points need everything to fall their way in Abu Dhabi.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.