Extreme Sailing Series | Act 3

The beautiful Bosphorus was where proceedings commenced on the penultimate day of Act 3 in Istanbul, providing one of the most stunning race courses the Extreme 40s have ever raced on. Red Bull Sailing Team are back in the driving seat as the eight Extreme 40s head into the final day tomorrow, but their day was not without incident after a collision with GAC Pindar left the teams locked in protest at the end of the day, and leaves Red Bull Sailing Team, with a starting penalty to take tomorrow.

 

The Wave, Muscat leads the way downwind during the Bosphorus race © Vincent Curutchet/Dark Frame

Despite the crash hanging over their heads as the fleet moved to stadium mode this afternoon, Red Bull Sailing Team came back fighting with a succession of top three results in the afternoon's stadium racing, before ultimately claiming the top spot in the final race of the day.

The French pre-seasons favourites on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild have been slowly chipping away at the leaderboard, and three races win saw them jump to third place.

The battle mid-leaderboard is just as tense as that at the top, with GAC Pindar and SAP Extreme Sailing Team from Denmark now tied on points in fifth and sixth respectively. We spent two minutes with one of their co-skippers, Jes Gram-Hansen in a quick fire question and answer session. Watch it online now.

 

The NeilPryde Racing Series was also in full swing today with the crowds gathering to watch the Turkish windsurfers in action on the water. Tonight, with LED-rigged sails, the windsurfers will race under the cover of darkness.

Turkey's national broadcaster, TRT Sport, went live from the race village today, broadcasting the action from the racecourse to over 16 million homes across Turkey. TRT will cover Act 3 on the final day tomorrow and will conclude the event with the teams at official prize giving where the Act 3 champion will be crowned. With a double-points final race anything can happen – watch this space!

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