Peter Burling's Black Foils are guaranteed a spot in Sunday's Grand Final – but who will join them in their quest for the coveted $2M prize?
NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – The dramatic conclusion of SailGP's Season 4 gets underway in less than 24 hours, with five fleet races determining who will earn a spot alongside Peter Burling's Black Foils in Sunday's winner-takes-all Grand Final race. History will be made between the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island, as Australia's Tom Slingsby vies for a four-peat and his rivals aim to overthrow an Aussie dynasty.
Speaking at today's official opening press conference, Burling said: “We're here to let the performance on the water do the talking. It's going to be a battle and we're excited to have the opportunity to compete in the Grand Final. We want to make sure we put our best foot forward.
Australia enters the weekend 15 points behind their trans-Tasman rivals after a tumultuous season, plagued by technical challenges and a costly penalty. Slingsby, however, said the team would draw their confidence from their history at the venue – a history that includes three consecutive SailGP championship victories.
Reflecting on his season to date, Slingsby said: “It's been a season of highs and lows for us. We sailed so well in the first half of this season and had seven podiums in a row. We take our confidence from this venue, our record in Grand Finals – we've got to find other ways to draw confidence and that's from our history of racing here.”
Sitting behind league heavyweights Australia and New Zealand, lines have been drawn in the ‘Battle for Third' between Spain's Diego Botin and France's Quentin Delapierre. Coming from a last-place finish in Season 3 to entering this weekend's Grand Final in third overall – with two event wins and two additional podium finishes under their belts – Spain's Diego Botin backed his young crew's chances as the underdogs. It's a theory that's been tested and proven right – Spain defeated New Zealand and Australia in a three-boat final in Bermuda earlier this season.
“I think we can beat Australia and New Zealand and it will probably be one of the toughest things we've done,” said Botin. “We just need to focus on our performance and step up over the weekend – that will give us the best chance of getting into the Grand Final.”
Outlining Les Bleus' approach to making the final, France's Quentin Delapierre said he wouldn't get caught up in ‘match racing' with Botin – having learned from a losing battle with Emirates Great Britain in the fleet racing series of last season's Grand Final.
Delappiere said: “The whole team will remember what we did wrong in San Francisco last year and we will keep this in mind over the weekend. It's not all in our hands, we need Spain to have a bad performance, too.”
Looking ahead to the 2024/25 Season announced earlier this week, SailGP also confirmed that for the first time ever, teams will get vital training at two pre season training camps in Bermuda and Dubai, beginning in August and October, respectively. New drivers Giles Scott (Emirates GBR), Taylor Canfield (USA) and Erik Heil (GER) welcomed the news.
Canfield said: “We're so excited – we're looking forward to getting out there and refining techniques ahead of the new season.”
After months of speculation about his plans to earn a driving role in the 2024/25 Season, a visibly-emotional Nathan Outteridge signaled “an end of an era,” outlining plans to spend a year cruising with his family, before attempting to rejoin the league in Season 6.
“Hopefully in the future I can be back driving for a team but, right now, I just want to wish the guys the best for the Grand Final this weekend in San Francisco,” said Outteridge.
The SailGP Season 4 Grand Final in San Francisco gets underway tomorrow and Sunday from 2.30 pm local time. A handful of tickets remain at SailGP.com/SanFrancisco. For details on how to watch, visit SailGP.com/Watch.
SAILGP SEASON 4 GRAND FINAL | SAN FRANCISCO
Day One Racing: Saturday, July 13, 2.30 p.m. – 4.00 p.m. PST
Day Two Racing: Sunday, July 14, 2.30 p.m. – 4.00 p.m. PST
SAILGP SEASON 4 LEADERBOARD AFTER 12 EVENTS:
1 // New Zealand 93 points
2 // Australia 78 points
3 // Spain 76 points
4 // France 71 points
5 // Canada 67 points
6 // ROCKWOOL Denmark 67 points
7 // Emirates Great Britain 66 points
8 // United States 51 points
9 // Germany 35 points
10 // Switzerland 33 points
SAILGP SEASON 4 IMPACT LEAGUE FINAL STANDINGS //
1 // Emirates Great Britain // 602 points
2 // ROCKWOOL Denmark // 598 points
3 // Switzerland // 590 points
4 // France // 571 points
5 // New Zealand // 560 points
6 // Australia // 544 points
7 // Germany 513
8 // Canada 502 points
9 // Spain 486 points
10 // United States 479 points
