SailGP: New Zealand struggle in season opener as Canada surprise

The New Zealand SailGP team sit seventh after day one in Bermuda. Photo / Ricardo Pinto for SailGP

One podium for New Zealand but an otherwise tough opening day for the SailGP season.

Peter Burling was back in Bermuda, where he led Team New Zealand to America's Cup glory in 2017, but it wasn't a welcomed return.

New Zealand finished third in the second race with a brilliant final leg but that was the only decent result of the day with a seventh in race one followed by a second-to-last eighth in the final race. They sit in seventh overall heading into tomorrow's final two races.

New entrants Canada, skippered by Kiwi Phil Robertson, were the surprise package with a victory in the second race along with a second placing and a fifth to lead the standings.

Canada's opening day was a moment of immense satisfaction for Robertson, driving his third different team in as many seasons.

"The team's excited but the challenge for us is to try and keep expectations low because the conditions are ideal for any of these boats so anything can happen tomorrow. But ultimately you have to be extremely happy with the day we had. In tight situations we always came out on top and did some great things on the racecourse," he said.

Great Britain won two races but an eighth in race two leaves them two points behind Canada. Despite only one top three finish, the Australia SailGP Team still ended the day in third place as the rest of the field struggled for consistency.

Aussie skipper Tom Slingsby said the standard has gone up in the nine-team field with the inclusion of Canada.

"I'm really impressed with Phil today, it's going to be exciting to see what he can do, he's got a new team, it's privately funded, the owner loves him and he's under no pressure. The standard has gone up a level and whoever can find some consistency in this field will do extremely well."

Standings
Canada 25
Great Britain 23
Australia 21
France 20
USA 16
Denmark 15
New Zealand 15
Spain 14
Switzerland 13