Giles Scott holds a 16 point lead after two days of racing ©Facebook

Britain’s Giles Scott claimed the outright lead after the defending champion won the only race on a disrupted second day of the Finn Gold Cup in Takapuna, New Zealand.

Having finished the first day of the event in joint first position with home favourite Andrew Murdoch, the two-time winner of the regatta was hoping to move clear of his rival and edge closer to continuing his unbeaten run, which stretches back to October 2013.

A lack of wind had threatened the opening race but after eventually getting underway Greece’s Ioannis Mitakis claimed the lead but came under pressure from Scott in the closing stages.

The British sailor seized the lead after overtaking Mitakis at the final gate and held off his rival’s challenge to claim the victory.

It saw Scott move onto nine points for the regatta and with Murdoch unable to replicate his form from the opening day after finishing in 17th place, the defending champion now boasts a 16-point advantage over the Kiwi, who now occupies second place.

New Zealand's Andrew Murdoch lies second despite a poor result on the only race of the day
New Zealand's Andrew Murdoch lies second despite a poor result in the only race of the day ©Facebook

“I managed to stay reasonably clear and had a half decent lane out to the right side which worked out reasonably well,” said Scott afterwards.

“I think I was maybe around tenth at the first mark, but managed to sail reasonably smart from there to the finish. 

“I slowly pulled my way back to the front of the fleet and managed to get the Greek guy just before the bottom gate to win.

“It was quite a tricky race with big tidal gains right and big shifts left halfway through, so there was an awful lot to manage but it came good for me in the end.”

The light breeze deteriorated further which prevented the second race of the day from taking place, leaving the podium positions occupied by the same three sailors as the opening day, with Britain’s Ed Wright currently lying in third on 27 points.



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