New Zealand’s decision to execute more maneuvers and maximize flight time proved crucial to the team’s triumph over Australia and Canada in Dubai.
Provided by Oracle Insights, data from the Final of the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix shows how the Kiwis transformed a 3rd Mark 1 position into the ultimate win on the waters of Mina Rashid.
As the race began, it was Australia which secured the best start of the three teams to lead at Mark 1, with a starting boat speed of 44.8 km/h. The Aussies were positioned 58.7m from the start, allowing them to cross the line just 4.9 seconds after the gun.
By contrast, Canada made the slowest start, with a speed of 38 km/h and was positioned 73.3m from the line, resulting in Phil Robertson's team crossing 7 seconds after the gun. New Zealand meanwhile had a faster starting speed - 40.1km/h - was positioned closer to the line - 68.5m away. This meant the Kiwis crossed the start line 6 seconds after the gun.
Australia rounded Mark 1 in 1st, followed by Canada, while New Zealand trailed for much of the race.
Australia also had the fastest average speed of 32.7 km/h compared to Canada’s 29.9 km/h and New Zealand’s 31.7 km/h, and executed 7 maneuvers compared to Canada’s 6 and New Zealand’s 9.
But the Kiwis’ decision to execute more maneuvers allowed them to stay foiling for longer, resulting in the team picking up a 61% fly time versus Australia’s 59% and Canada’s 48%. The Kiwis also had the highest ride height of the three teams - 790.8mm versus Canada’s 615.4mm and Australia’s 698.9mm.
New Zealand also made the crucial decision to split the course and separate from the Aussies and Canadians on the last two legs of the course, which allowed them to sail in space and secure the all-important inside track at the final turning mark. Ultimately, this allowed them to clinch the photo-finish victory on the finish line.
Powered by Oracle, SailGP Insights is an online dashboard which provides fans with huge amounts of data from our cutting-edge racing F50 catamarans.
