'Los Gallos' come close to victory at SailGP Auckland

After the second event, Spain is fourth overall, just one point behind New Zealand and Great Britain, and tied on points with the third-place Australians.

Spain confirmed what it had been warning since the start of this season: it wants to continue fighting with the best to win the Rolex SailGP Championship again.

In a day of three races and the final, the Spain SailGP Team managed to confirm its great form by finishing the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix Auckland in second place after a great final against Australia and Emirates GBR. The consistency and good performance of Los Gallos allowed them to demonstrate their candidacy for everything, signing off a great weekend and competing head-to-head against all the fleet's teams.

In the first race of the day, “Los Gallos” secured a solid fifth place after a race with many ups and downs. The Spain SailGP Team had a great start that they could not consolidate, falling to eighth position after losing speed. Despite this, Diego Botín and the whole team were able to solve the problems, finishing fifth in that first race on Sunday.

On a day with strong winds, sailing the F50s proved to be a challenge for all the crews. In the second race of the day, the Spain SailGP Team based their good result on great strategy, avoiding the pack and seeking maximum speed. This led to a good comeback after getting bottled up at the start, finishing in third position, touching the final with the tips of their fingers with one race to go.

In the last race of the day, the Spain SailGP Team faced a very complicated start, with a lot of traffic, something that led “Los Gallos” to the back of the pack, forcing them to make a comeback. At times during that seventh race, Spain was out of the final, but the team signed off a tremendous finish, ending third and thus qualifying for the final along with Australia and Emirates GBR.

In the final, the Spain SailGP Team put Tom Slingsby's Australia under pressure at gate five. The Spanish team was aggressive at all times, seeking victory and risking to achieve it. Despite this, “Slingsby” proved to be very solid and won the victory, with Spain finishing in second place. Emirates GBR ultimately finished in third position. After this second Grand Prix of the season, Spain is fourth in the overall standings with 16 points, tied with Australia and just one behind the leaders, Great Britain and New Zealand.

Diego Botín, pilot of the Spain SailGP Team, noted in the mixed zone: “We are happy with the result. We were able to put pressure on Australia until the end and that's very good. Today has been a very complicated day with a very short course, a lot of wind and also many boats. It has been very difficult,” explained the Spanish pilot.

The third Grand Prix of the Rolex SailGP 2025 Season Championship will be the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney, which will be held on the upcoming days of February 8 and 9, 2025.