Spain came to Halifax fresh from securing their second ever event win in Bermuda and started the event in style - picking up the win in the first fleet race.
Mixed results followed - with a 4th and 8th place finish in the second and third - but a standout moment for the team occurred on the second day of racing when heavy winds played havoc with the league’s craning schedule.
Spain was one of the last boats craned onto the water and had a decent start to the fourth fleet race - streaking ahead of New Zealand and Emirates GBR at Mark 1.
But the crew struggled with the tricky conditions, sliding backwards through the fleet before dramatically losing control of their F50 in the final moments of the race.
The Spanish F50 was flying high when crossing the finish line and was suddenly lifted by the heavy winds to skid sideways across the water.
Speaking after racing, driver Diego Botin said the conditions were ‘so difficult’. “It’s enough to try and do a clean race and play the shifts and that’s what we were focusing on,” he said.
The Spanish finished the event in 4th overall with 34 points - just one point behind finalists ROCKWOOL DEN and France, with 35. However, the refreshed Season 4 standings see Spain move into second overall, while triple SailGP champions Australia drop down to third.
