DIEGO BOTIN UNPACKS NEW YORK VICTORY: “WE GAVE EVERYTHING IN THE FINAL”
Spain driver Diego Botin has unpacked the team’s stunning victory in New York, which saw it defeat New Zealand and France in a hard-fought three boat showdown.
Spain scraped into the Final to take on the Kiwis – winners here last season – and France, beating both to cross the start line first and win the all-important race to Mark 1. From here, the Spanish held off passing attempts by the Kiwis, maintaining its slim three-second lead at each gate.
Reflecting on the battle, Botin said it had been an ‘emotional, up and down day’ with ‘a good first race’, which saw the Spanish finish second before ‘struggling through the next ones’ – resulting in 11th and 7th place finishes.
Despite finishing 7th in the last qualifying race, the Spanish crucially managed to pass Mubadala Brazil, which handed them the last spot in the event-deciding Final.
“That gave us a bit of momentum to push it into the Final,” Botin said. “We were backing off a bit after that good first race and it wasn’t good for us at all and to give everything in the Final and to win was an amazing feeling after that low.”
The second day of racing in New York saw the Spanish ‘struggle’ with ‘how we were sailing the boat’, Botin added, due to ‘super hard conditions’.
“We had a very up and down breeze, waves, strong gusts and we didn’t find our groove, but throughout the day we were getting better and better and we got in a good groove for the Final,” he said.
New York’s win marks back-to-back victories for the Spanish, who won the last event in San Francisco, and now sees them move to the top of the 2025 Season leaderboard – pushing BONDS Flying Roos into second. It comes too after the Spanish secured their first ever event win in Los Angeles last season and won the overall Season 4 Championship in San Francisco – creating a proven track record at U.S. events.
“America is a special place for us and it’s amazing to win again here,” Botin said
