Finally...victory for Red Bull

Hagara's team clings on on the final day of the Extreme Sailing Series Singapore

Double Olympic Tornado gold medallists Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher and their team on Red Bull Sailing Team won the Extreme Sailing Series Singapore, becoming kings of Marina Bay after 32 hard fought races. After three light fickle days, the regatta concluded on a high in 15 knots winds with gusts of up to 21.

The team from Austria held a small advantage heading into the final day but held its nerve, despite the onslaught from SAP Extreme Sailing Team who were denied victory by just five points, with The Wave, Muscat rounding out the podium.

“We are all thrilled, it’s great," commented Hagara, who with tactician Hans Peter Steinacher, selected Red Bull Youth America’s Cup sailors Jason Waterhouse, Shaun Mason and Stewart Dodson to join them this season." The young guys did a great job and I think all of our experience was very helpful; together as a team we kept everything together and it was perfect for us. This win showed us that we can do it. We didn’t have as much luck in the last season but here everything went well for us. I think we now are making good decisions on the race course.”

SAP Extreme Sailing Team was on a mission, nailing confidence boosting early races that made the Austrians earn every point, to take a deserved second place – the Danish team's best ever finish.

“It’s such a great job by the team and we are so happy with the second place, its been a long time since the podium and this one feels so good,” commented co-skipper Rasmus Kostner. “This regatta has been a long event under very shifty conditions; we have tried to improve throughout and have managed to get the most out of the challenging conditions. We definitely feel like we are doing a lot of things right at the moment and hope to be able to continue that.”

Leigh McMillan and his crew on The Wave, Muscat are famous for their final day comebacks, but the Danes and Austrians were not going to be muscled out, leaving the two time Series champions third. McMillan commented: “We went out fighting, but went into the last race with a bit too much to do, and didn’t get the strategy right from the start. We’re a little disappointed to finish third but we can’t take anything away from Red Bull Sailing Team and SAP Extreme Sailing Team. It goes to show there’s a lot of talent out there. We’re still going to fight all the way through the season, and we know we’re going to have our turn.”

Gazprom Team Russia, this season with three Russian sailors onboard, including skipper Igor Lisovenko, showed it is a real contender, finishing fourth in Singapore, just seven points behind The Wave, Muscat. The second Omani team, Oman Air, claimed the final race, to finish their debut regatta under skipper Stevie Morrison fifth, with the Australian crew on GAC Pindar, which has been making quiet progress all week, sixth, despite sitting out four races on day two with a damaged bowsprit.

Beko Team Turx and Lino Sonego Team Italia are the newest teams but they showed no intention of being bullied out on the track, with both taking their share of race wins over the regatta, as did the local entry Team Aberdeen, supported by Host Venue Partner Aberdeen Asset Management. The last word went to Team Aberdeen skipper Nick Moloney: “It’s always a pleasure to compete in this fleet - it is an elite group. Stevie (Morrison) was fantastic this weekend, and there’s a lot of new additions to the fleet which is really exciting. The Extreme Sailing Series is always the place to be. There’s a whole lot going on in the sailing world across the board but they don’t compare. It’s an absolute pleasure to be here.”

Racing on the Extreme Sailing Series resumes in Muscat, Oman over 11-14 March.

Results after 32 races

1st Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Jason Waterhouse, Shaun Mason, Stewart Dodson 232 points.
2nd SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Mads Emil Stephensen, Brad Farrand 227 points.
3rd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari 220 points.
4th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Phil Robertson, Garth Ellingham, Alexander Bozhko, Aleksey Kulakov 213 points.
5th Oman Air (OMA) Stevie Morrison, Nic Asher, Ted Hackney, Ed Powys, Ali Al Balashi 198 points.
6th GAC Pindar (GBR) Seve Jarvin, Jack Macartney, Marcus Ashley-Jones, Tyson Lamond, James Wierzbowski 182 points.
7th Lino Sonego Team Italia (ITA) Lorenzo Bressani, Enrico Zennaro, Gabriele Olivo, Tom Buggy, Adam Kay 180 points.
8th Beko Team Turx (TUR) Edhem Dirvana, Mitch Booth, Selim Kakış, Diogo Cayolla, Anıl Berk Baki 166 points.
9th Team Aberdeen (SIN) Nick Moloney, Adam Beashel, Tom Dawson, Freddie White, Justin Wong 156 points.

Extreme Sailing Series 2015 overall standings

1st Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 10 points.
2nd SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 9 points.
3rd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 8 points.
4th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 7 points.
5th Oman Air (OMA) 6 points.
6th GAC Pindar (GBR) 5 points.
7th Lino Songeo Team Italia (ITA) 4 points.
8th Beko Team Turx (TUR) 3 points.