SailGP: Sir Ben Ainslie and Great Britain win first final in Bermuda

Sir Ben Ainslie and the British SailGP team beat their counterparts from Australia and France to triumph in the first final of the new SailGP season in Bermuda.

Ainslie and his team members showed considerable improvement over the course of the two days, after finishing seventh in the first two races, before reaching the final and then winning it.

They built on a productive second day and, after an aggressive start in the medal match, they held their nerve in challenging conditions to become the first F50 over the line.

The victory in the three-boat, winner-takes-all final, means the British team sit on top of the season standings after the first of the eight global Sail Grand Prix events, which culminate in a $1m winner-takes-all final in San Francisco next March.

The two days of racing in Bermuda included all of the F50s reaching incredible speeds, collisions between boats and overall it set the tone for what should be an exceptionally competitive SailGP season.

Here we look at some of the key talking points...

Britain's final victory

Ainslie and his team's route to their final triumph in Bermuda wasn't a straightforward one, as they finished the first day in sixth position overall.

With three races taking place on day one, two on day two and then a final for the leading three teams, Ainslie knew his outfit still had a chance to be in the mix with a fast start to the second day.

The British team did exactly that, after taking the time to do their homework and use the data available to them.

A unique feature of SailGP is that every team has access to every other team's data, so the chance to study and gain lessons from your competitors is always there.

With the combination of that analysis and further time on the water, Ainslie and the British team produced sharper manoeuvres when it counted on day two, and did so in difficult conditions.

"It was a cracking race," Ainslie said about their final. "It was awesome. We want to be here, going up against these guys and I want to give huge credit to the team.

"We worked hard to analyse what was going on with our coach and with Hannah Mills, who has been out here with us as a female athlete. It's a big team effort and it's Neil's birthday too, so we thought that we needed to sign off on a good note."

Race Four... it had everything!

With one F50's hull being sliced open by another, one boat capsizing and then Ainslie and Great Britain securing a vital victory... the fourth race of the weekend had it all!

Let's start with the most dramatic of the incidents and Japan's helmsman Nathan Outteridge making a serious error on board his team's F50.

The mistake came mid-race as they were gaining ground on the USA and instead of giving their rivals room, they ended up with their hull on board the USA's boat, and it was quickly sliced open.

The incident ended Japan's time on the water, not only in that race but for the weekend, and after a subsequent USA capsize, they also were not able to take part in the rest of the first weekend of the season.

It was much better news from a British perspective, though, as race four was the point in which Ainslie and the team really started to handle their F50 with prowess, and victory ensured they remained in contention for the final.

Early challenges for New Zealand

Peter Burling and his Kiwi outfit called their first day in SailGP "a baptism of fire" as their best result during it was a sixth-placed finish in their opening race.

With just one day of training on their F50 before the competition commenced, the fact that Burling said they struggled to keep the boat under control, was perhaps understandable.

"It was a real baptism of fire for us," Burling, who has just won the America's Cup, admitted.

"It felt like we had some really good points in all of the races, but we couldn't quite put one together."

Every other outfit in SailGP Season 2 will not be discounting the Kiwis, as over the course of day two Burling and his team showed they were getting to grips with their F50.

Needless to say, it will not take a sailor of his calibre long to improve, and come the second event of the season in Italy, it could be a different story for New Zealand's SailGP team.

Watch every race day of SailGP Season 2, on Sky Sports. The second Sail Grand Prix takes place on June 5 and 6 weekend, with coverage live on Sky Sports Mix.