SailGP: Nathan Outteridge's Japan victorious in Taranto; Jimmy Spithill's USA crash in final
The final of the second SailGP Grand Prix of the season had a dramatic conclusion as the USA snapped their rudder off while in the lead; the Japanese team then took control and secured the spoils
Sunday 6 June 2021 15:20, UK
Nathan Outteridge's Japanese team won the final of the SailGP Grand Prix in Taranto after taking advantage of the USA's late crash down, which broke their rudder and ended their chances of victory.
Both teams were joined in the winner-takes-all final by Spain however on the fourth leg, it was Japan who were closest to the USA and therefore able to capitalise on their mistake.
The victory capped a consistent weekend of sailing for Outteridge's team. Over the course of five regular races prior to the final, they were never out of the top three and the weekend was a sharp turnaround from them not being able to finish in Bermuda, due to a collision with the USA.
Despite crossing the line last in the final, Spain now take top spot in the overall standings after two of the eight Sail Grand Prix events.
Great Britain, who had a difficult weekend as their new interim helmsman Paul Goodison learnt on the job, remain in second with Japan moving up into third.
Season 2 of SailGP now moves to Plymouth, where the third event of the year will take place on July 17 and 18, and every race day will be live on Sky Sports.
Japan snatch victory out of USA hands
After positive starts in the winner-takes-all final from both Japan and USA, it looked as if the latter had found the winning formula.
Their superior average speed and strong positioning around the course meant that they went into gate four over 100m ahead. At that point, it all changed in the blink of an eye.
"Unfortunately, we had a massive impact with something under the water and we've snapped the rudder off," Spithill said on board after their crash.
"We were really executing a perfect race; we'd built a nice lead and all we had to do was to get around the mark and head back up to the finish. It's pretty disappointing but we can't control that."
Due to the lighter wind conditions, all three of the finalists were working with just three crew members instead of the usual five. As a result, Outteridge was largely focused on his team's work.
"We saw them wipeout at the bottom mark and as you can imagine with three people on board, you don't have much time to look at the competition," the Japanese CEO and helmsman said.
"When they wiped out it was a really easy decision to tack straight away and that effectively won us the race.
"It wasn't really a perfect race this weekend, but sometimes you get lucky. When you do, you have to take it and we'll thank Jimmy Spithill for that one!
"It's a lot about the light-win finesse; whether you've got three, four or five [people on board], it doesn't matter," Outteridge continued.
"It's about how you harness the power of these boats and if you can do that, and can keep your manoeuvres slick, you can do really well. We got an extra couple of days of light wind training in and a massive thanks for that, it really made a huge difference.
"I want to say a huge thank you to the whole tech team for repairing our boat and the American boat. Clearly, we have a lot to prove after Bermuda. Hopefully we'll be in the top three in Plymouth and charging there with a bit more breeze."
Great Britain's SailGP team will certainly want to improve their performances in order to be present in the medal match on home waters.
In Taranto, interim helmsman Goodison was trying to find his feet and with the majority of the races happening with reduced crew, pushing for honours was always going to be a tough ask.
"This week has been a big learning curve," he said after day one.
"First sailing with five and then going down to three crew; this adds the pressure to perform as I have to do more than just drive the boat, that's quite hard on me but very hard on the two guys in front."
Goodison will remain at the helm of Great Britain's F50 in Plymouth before Sir Ben Ainslie returns for the rest of Season 2 of SailGP.
Watch every race day of SailGP Season 2, on Sky Sports. The third Sail Grand Prix in Plymouth takes place on July 17 and 18, with coverage live on Sky Sports Mix.
