Yachting: Burling sets early pace at Moth World Champs

Team New Zealand's Peter Burling is setting the early pace at the Moth World Championship on Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. Photo / Getty Images.

Team New Zealand's Peter Burling is setting the early pace at the Moth World Championship on Port Phillip Bay, Victoria.

The event has attracted some of the biggest names in America's Cup racing, with the moth - a small, light-weight dinghy designed to foil - a key development tool for Cup sailors. But it is one of the America's Cup's newest stars that is standing out at the world champs.

Burling, an Olympic silver medallist in the 49er class alongside Blair Tuke, took the lead of the second day of the regatta with four straight wins in the "blue" fleet - his final win of the day by a margin of over a lap.

Defending world champion Nathan Outteridge (AUS), on the yellow on a course further offshore, raced in bumpier conditions and scored 3-2-2-1 results.

Two drops are in place following the seven qualifying races. Burling is on five points and Outteridge on seven. The fleet will now be divided into gold and silver, with the top half of leaderboard going through to the gold fleet.

Burling said he is pleased with his start to the regatta but is conscious the competition will heat up now racing moves to the gold fleet.

"I did well in the light and shifty weather [on Saturday] and [yesterday] was as good. I put a lot of work into improving my game for this event," he said.

"We were in flatter, more manageable water than the yellow fleet, but even so, I dropped off the foil at one stage and fell back to 11th, but I still got back and won. Everyone had a swim, or crashed or overtook."

Burling singled out Outteridge, his main rival in the Olympic 49er class, as the key threat to the world title.

"Both of us have different commitments now - me with Emirates Team NZ and him with Artemis Racing. We're still good mates, but things are slightly different now. He is my biggest challenge."

Brits Chris Rashley and Chris Draper and Australians Tom Slingsby, Iain Jensen, Josh McKnight and Scott Babbage are the other big threats for the title.

Tuke was the next best Kiwi in 18th, while fellow Team NZ members Ray Davies (33rd) and Dean Barker (35th) also qualified for the 10-race gold fleet, but barring a remarkable turn of events they are not in the position to challenge for the title.

Australian Glenn Ashby, Team New Zealand's wing trimmer, suffered extensive damage after a crash with one of the American boats in race six, dropping him down the board and cutting him out of Race seven, for which he will ask for redress.

"Lucky I'm a sailmaker, so I can fix that, but I've got a broken foil and bow damage that will take a bit of fixing. Apart from that, it was a tough and bumpy old day, but awesome sailing."