Dubai's dramatic photo finish and New Zealand’s 11th hour victory has been picked by SailGP fans as their favorite moment of the event.
Members of SailGP’s fan loyalty program The Dock were quizzed on their standout moments from racing in Dubai and picked the final mark rounding, which saw Canada, Australia and New Zealand all come back together.
Daniel Gruhn described the sprint to the finish line as ‘truly edge of your seat stuff’, while Benjamin Wiebe added: “The down to the wire event Final was the most exciting one in ages -a very exciting race to watch right up until the end!”
Avril Balmer meanwhile complimented the tactical prowess of New Zealand driver Peter Burling. “Peter Burling’s Masterstroke earning NZ the right to round the final mark in first and ultimately being awarded their second win of the season - priceless!” she said.
Elsewhere, fans highlighted the return of Jimmy Spithill as substitute Australia driver, stepping in for Tom Slingsby who was out on paternity leave.
Ultimately, Australia just missed out on the podium victory in Dubai, but secured a solid second place finish with Spithill behind the wheel.
“It was impressive how well he did jumping into a different team and only have a few days of practice racing,” said Jordan Atkins.
Other fans pointed to the debut of the revamped USA team led by new driver Taylor Canfield, with Henry Heerema highlighting their 3rd place finish in the 5th fleet race. “It shows their new team is working together pretty well,” he said.
Next up, SailGP heads to Abu Dhabi for the first ever Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council. Racing will take place on January 13-14.
