Australia dominate on day one

Reigning champions Australia bounced back from a nightmare display in Christchurch by dominating the opening day of racing at the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix.

Tom Slingsby’s team, which won SailGP’s last event in Bermuda, picked up two race wins and a third place finish, ending the day at the top of the leaderboard with 28 points.

It puts the Aussies in pole position heading into day two.

Series leaders New Zealand sit in fourth overall, after taking third place in the first race and fourth place in each of the next two.

New Zealand and Denmark are both on 22 points, with Canada in second with 23.

Australia lost the series lead to New Zealand in Christchurch after hitting a race mark and being handed an eight-point penalty.

Speaking after yesterday’s racing in Bermuda, Slingsby joked that the team “should crash into marks more often”.

“The conditions were perfect and we were able to sail away,” he said. “It felt a bit like the Australia of old.”

In each of the day’s three fleet races, New Zealand appeared to struggle at the start, but showed their usual grit and skill, executing critical manoeuvres to find clear air and make gains through the fleet.

“We were trying a few different things to get off the line today,” driver Peter Burling said. “Some didn’t quite go to plan but all in all happy with how today went.’’a

United States were unable to race after suffering too much damage to their F50’s wing when they capsized in practice.

The Americans flipped over during the third and final practice race on Bermuda’s training day, with the crew dramatically thrown from the boat.

Speaking about their withdrawal, United States CEO and strategist Mike Buckley described the incident as a “high-speed crash”. “While our athletes are all OK, there was significant damage to the F50,” he said. “Unfortunately it is not repairable in time for us to get back on the water.”