Diego Botin’s young Spanish team executed flawless tactical decision-making to trounce season leaders New Zealand and Australia on the iconic waters of Bermuda’s Great Sound.
An aggressive start saw Spain swerve behind the Aussies and Kiwis to pinch perfect start line positioning, with speed, and secure the all-important inside line to Mark 1.
Despite the Kiwis breathing down their necks throughout, the Spanish stayed focused on the racecourse, splitting with Burling’s team at Gate 4 to pick up a 100m lead in the blink of an eye.
The race defining moment however came at Gate 5, when the Spanish executed an expert maneuver to force New Zealand to turn away. This resulted in huge gains for Diego Botin’s team.
Overall Spain executed the fewest maneuvers, sailed the shortest distance and recorded the highest speed of all three teams, as well as a perfect 100% flight time.
The refreshed season standings see New Zealand retain its position at the top of the Season 4 leaderboard with 77 points - a clear 10 point lead over Australia in second. Meanwhile Spain’s win sees the team solidify its third place position on the leaderboard with 65 points - a comfortable nine point margin ahead of Rockwool Denmark in fourth.
Elsewhere, it was a difficult weekend for Quentin Delapierre’s France, which finished the weekend in 9th place due to inconsistent fleet race results. Risky starting tactics in the fourth fleet race pre-start saw the French foul Rockwool Demark, resulting in a penalty which pushed them to the back of the fleet.
Switzerland meanwhile, now driven by Nathan Outteridge, came out of the blocks firing when racing got underway - picking up the win in the fourth fleet race - its second fleet race win of Season 4 so far.
Next up, the 10 - strong F50 fleet heads to Canada for the first time for the for the Rockwool Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax on June 2/3
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