on 10 May 2023
Driver Peter Burling says the crew was 'gutted' with the final result
Photo: Bob Martin / SailGP
The New Zealand SailGP Team came away second in a nail-biting grand final race on the San Francisco Bay on Sunday.
Defending SailGP champions Australia cemented their third season win, finishing just inches ahead of New Zealand, while Emirates Great Britain rounded out the season podium in third.
Driver Peter Burling says the crew was “gutted” with the final result, which saw the Kiwis nearly overtake the Australians on the final reach of the course, but was proud of his team’s efforts across an “incredible season” with SailGP.
“It was so close and absolutely gutted we couldn’t get the job done in the end, but I’m feeling incredibly proud of the team and how far we’ve come,” Burling says.
New Zealand finished sixth and seventh in the first two fleet races of the day, securing the points needed to compete in the final alongside Australia and Emirates Great Britain, who were first and second in the weekend standings, respectively.
Credit: Simon Bruty / SailGP
“We definitely battled hard, right in the middle of the pack for most of this weekend,” says Burling. “It’s been one of those events where we feel like we’ve been sailing the boat well but not a lot has rolled in our favour. In the end, we did a good job consolidating things to get through to the final, and putting together our best race when it mattered the most”
Wing trimmer Blair Tuke says: “We got a pretty good start to the final race and were neck and neck with the Australians heading into mark one. From there, we fell a bit further behind but the team stuck together, stayed strong and focused to get incredibly close at the finish,” said Tuke.
We definitely battled hard, right in the middle of the pack for most of this weekend,” adds Burling. “It’s been one of those events where we feel like we’ve been sailing the boat well but not a lot has rolled in our favour. In the end, we did a good job consolidating things to get through to the final, and putting together our best race when it mattered the most.”
Photo: Felix Diemer / SailGP
Wing trimmer Blair Tuke says New Zealand “got a pretty good start” to the final race and were “neck and neck” with the Australians heading into mark one. “From there, we fell a bit further behind but the team stuck together, stayed strong and focused to get incredibly close at the finish,” he says.
Season 4 continues on January 13-14, 2024 with the Middle East Sail Grand Prix.
Earlier this year, SailGP confirmed a multi-year renewal agreement with management company IMG to continue as the racing league’s global agency and drive the future growth of the league.
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