Spain's strength saw them finish second behind New Zealand in the final

Sports Editorial, January 14 (EFE).- Peter Burling's New Zealand team beat Spain and the United States in today's Abu Dhabi Prize final (United Arab Emirates, seventh round of the 2023-2024 season). Ended at the Port Said estuary in the Emirati capital.

A fantastic Spanish performance on the second day, they started at the head of the general classification and had to fight their way to the final in the first race of the day, the fourth and most confusing of the race, they finished in last place, falling to sixth place overall, then won last place with determination and authority to join New Zealand and the United States in the final. reached

As of yesterday, the wind on the race course was poor. They did not exceed six knots (12 km/h), were very unstable, and the temperature (26ºC) did not help. Clearly, neither Dubai nor Abu Dhabi are favorable locations for these 15-metre catamarans, which require the use of 29-metre sails.

Be that as it may, the main thing is that, like yesterday, the Cantabrian Diego Bottin (helmsman), the Catalan Florian Trittel (balware trimmer), the Canarian Joel Rodríguez (aircraft controller) and the Madrid Nicole van der Velden (strategist) did not succumb to the pressure.

In the first race, with a chaotic start and six boats out of line and penalised, Spain were not penalized but trailed, while Australia, with Tom Slingsby very successful and unpenalised, escaped to win with authority. Today is a changed path. Spain, who initially dropped to eighth place, finished tenth and last.

This moved him to sixth place overall and all but one to play for in the final round. Again, a very light wind and a serious mistake by Australia, which was off-line at the start and was penalised. Germany and Spain started earlier than the other countries, but the Spanish F50 'Victoria' was faster than the Germans and at the second mark it was already leading the heat.

In the end, Spain reached the finals by defeating Germany by 52 seconds and the United States by 2:02, which also qualified for the finals.

For the first time this season, ninth-ranked Australia did not make the finals. For Spain it was third after winning in Los Angeles and third in St Tropez.

New Zealand fielded its star-studded America's Cup team in Abu Dhabi aboard its F50 'Amocura' (named after a New Zealand tropical bird) with Peter Burling (helmsman), Blair Duke (wing trimmer) and Andy Maloney (aircraft controller). ) and Liv Liv Mackay (Strategist), playing in their third final of the season after wins in Chicago and Dubai, did not disappoint and now threaten Australia in the lead.

Although Spain and the United States initially positioned themselves on the left flank, Peter Burling made it in the center and eluded his two rivals. America, led by world match-race champion Taylor Canfield, outclassed the Spaniards, but Diego Bott's 'Victoria' had the pace and overtook the Americans in the fourth division.

New Zealand beat Spain by 24 seconds and the Americans by 36 seconds. The win leaves the Kiwis second overall on the World Tour, just six points behind Australia, while Spain move up to fifth, 14 points adrift.

The next event on the calendar is the eighth round of the season, which will be held in Sydney (Australia) on February 24 and 25.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Final Classification

(5 Rounds + Final Round)

.1. New Zealand Peter Burling (NZL) 10 pts

.2. Spain Diego Bodin (ESP) 9

.3. United States Taylor Canfield (USA)8

.4. France Quentin Delabier (FRA) 7

.5. Germany Eric Heil (GER) 6

.6. Canada Bill Robertson (NZL) 5

.7. Australia Doom Slingsby (AUS) 4

.8. Great Britain Giles Scott (GBR) 3

.9. Denmark Nathan Outteridge (AUS) 2

.10. Switzerland Sébastian Schneiter (SUI) 1

Sail GP World Circuit General Classification

(At the end of the Seventh Abu Dhabi Test)

.1. Australia Dunn Slingsby (AUS) 56 pts

.2. New Zealand Peter Burling (NZL) 50

.3. United States Taylor Canfield (USA) 43

.4. Denmark Nathan Outteridge (AUS) 43

.5. Spain Diego Bodin (ESP) 42

.6. Great Britain Giles Scott (GBR) 41

.7. France Quentin Delabier (FRA) 38

.8. Canada Bill Robertson (NZL) 37

.9. Germany Eric Heil (GER) 16

.10. Switzerland Sébastian Schneiter (SUI) 12. EFE

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