The second installment of Season 4 marked SailGP’s first ever visit to LA, with the 10-strong F50 fleet going head to head on the Port of Los Angeles.
The tightest racecourse in SailGP history challenged crews like never before, resulting in plenty of dramatic moments, close crosses and congested mark roundings as the fleet converged.
Emirates Great Britain dominated practice racing and excelled on the first day of official racing with 2-6-1 race results, while Australia finished the day at the top of the leaderboard with 1-2-4 results.
It was also an excellent day for ROCKWOOL Denmark and Spain, with the Danish finishing the day in third position tied on points with Emirates GBR, and Spain picking up consistent 6-3-2 results.
With the wind forecast proving optimistic heading into day two, a last minute call was made to swap to the largest 29m wing configuration, meaning that teams were working against the clock to ready the F50s for racing.
But when racing did get underway, it was Spain that came out firing - netting a first place finish in the fourth fleet race, followed closely by Season 3 champions Australia.
This meant Spain was in with a chance of making its first event Final - but only if the team finished in ninth place or better in the last fleet race.
But two penalties for infringing Quentin Delapierre’s France hurt Spain badly in the next race - leaving them in dead last. With time running out, the team moved up into ninth place in the nick of time.
Spain secured a place in the three-boat shootout for the first time - going head to head against Australia and ROCKWOOL Denmark.
With the wind dying off, pressure was on to make a good start and gain the all-important inside track to Mark 1 - and it was Spain leading the way. While both Australia and ROCKWOOL Denmark made gains throughout the race, it was ultimately Diego Botin’s young crew that would cross the line first - picking up their first event win.
The F50 fleet will meet again at the France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez on September 9-10.
