A "shocker" when it mattered most cost Tom Slingsby's Australian team dearly as their hunt for a record fourth consecutive SailGP event victory fell short in Halifax, Canada.
Instead closest rivals Spain drew closer to the championship-leading BONDS Flying Roos with a hard-fought triumph in SailGP's first-ever four-boat podium final on Sunday.
The day had started according to script for Slingsby's crew in front of more than 12,000 fans, with 27 km/h winds.
Needing a fourth-place finish or better in the final qualifying race, the Aussies delivered a tactical masterclass to win comfortably, securing their spot in the winner-takes-all final alongside Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Yet after dominating the weekend's qualifying races with three first-place finishes and a third, they were shut out of the podium altogether, forced to watch from fourth as Spain's Los Gallos snatched the glory ahead of Swedish runners-up Artemis and the third-placed Swiss.
