New Zealand have clinched their spot in the SailGP Grand Final, after claiming victory in the podium race at New York.
The Black Foils outmaneuvered both Canada and Great Britain at the start-line to pull clear early, and never looked back, streaking to their fifth win in 12 finals this year.
The result in the penultimate event of the season cements their place atop the leaderboard and guarantees they will line up as one of three boats in the US$2 million (NZ$3.2m) Grand Final.
Peter Burling's crew entered the second day on the Hudson River in third place. They finished fourth and second respectively in the two remaining fleet races to qualify second overall for the podium race.
The competition now shifts to San Francisco for the final event of the season on July 14-15, where the final two spots in the Grand Final will still be up for grabs.
"This weekend was our last chance to compete in the final before San Fran," said driver Burling. "We got off the line well three times and then it was just sailing clean races, but it was definitely super hard on control, with all the ferry waves and the turbulence from the current and the water, so I’m really proud of the team.
"We're going to carry that momentum to San Fran. We're not just going to the final to be there, we want to go there to win it.
"We know that the last race is the only one that really matters now."
Nearest rivals and defending champions Australia could only managed fourth at New York, with their only win this season coming on home waters at Sydney in April. They still managed to leapfrog Spain into second overall.
"Somehow those points worked out pretty well for us," said driver tom Slingsby. "We got a bit lucky out of this event.
"We've been trying to get a bit of momentum heading into San Francisco and we haven't really nailed that, but we've just got to remember that we've got a really good track record there and the team's got a lot of confidence there, so we'll head in with confidence."
