New Zealand aren't banking on home advantage at the inaugural Sail GP at Lyttelton this weekend, as they look to overtake reigning champions Australia in the championship race.
The Kiwis trail their trans-Tasman rivals and series leaders by 12 points, with France and Emirates GBR not far behind in third and fourth place.
The regatta at Whakaraupō is the last before the grand final at San Francisco in May, with only the top three qualifying for the leg.
In most sports, home advantage is a sought-after edge, but NZ Sail GP co-chief executive Blair Tuke believes it will do little to aid their bid to win the championship.
"I think we're pretty lucky," he told AM. "If you look over at the six people on our boat, at any one time, we've all raced here, mainly in smaller boats growing up.
"If we think back to Optimus or P class, or a little bit bigger boats, the harbour seemed quite big at that stage, but now in these F50s, it's going to be a lot tighter course.
"I think the hometown advantage is not so much on the water. All the athletes we race against are really well practised going to these different venues around the world.
"You pick it up pretty quickly, but certainly racing at home, and having all of our friends and whānau around, that's the advantage we will take."
The Lyttelton regatta was originally scheduled for last year, but was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Tuke hopes the locals turn out to support the Kiwis at what will prove to be a crucial leg of the 2023 competition.
"It's certainly going to be epic to get racing with Sail GP in New Zealand for the first time, we've been doing the circuit for two years now and we haven't had the chance to race at home," he said.
"We're pretty pumped to bring Kiwis this type of sailing this weekend. It's going to be a huge amount of people turn out, 15,000 odd watching, we can't wait.
"The race is going to be super close to the break wall, and obviously natural amphitheatre that Whakaraupō - Lyttelton Harbour creates is going to be epic."
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