Jimmy Spithill introduced his retirement from SailGP racing after the Australian catamaran he was helming was edged by trans-Tasman Sea rival New Zealand’s Peter Burling in a photograph end on the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix on Sunday.

Burling poked his 50-foot foiling catamaran throughout the road just some toes forward of the Aussies’ “Flying Roo” after a tense final mark rounding on the Persian Gulf that included Canada’s Phil Robertson drawing a penalty. It was Burling’s first win since the Season 4 opener in Chicago and denied the three-time defending SailGP champion Aussies their first victory.

Spithill, subbing while friend and countryman Tom Slingsby is on paternity leave, said he’s retiring from racing to focus on running an Italian team he plans to debut in Season 5 of tech baron Larry Ellison’s global league.

“This was my last race as a SailGP athlete. It’s time for me to let fresh young blood into the competition, with the new Italian team, where I’ll take the role of CEO,” Spithill stated. “And, what a approach to exit with the Aussies.”

Spithill left Team USA two weeks ago after it was sold to a private American group whose investors include Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner and actress Issa Rae, among several others.

“It’s been one hell of a ride and I’m going to miss the battles and the competition,” stated Spithill, an Australian who makes his full-time dwelling in San Diego together with his American spouse and two sons. “It’s a full circle second for me because it’s been over 20 years since I raced for Australia, so it feels becoming that I finish my SailGP athlete journey on board with the Aussies.”

Spithill said the 37th America’s Cup next fall in Barcelona will be his last. He’s the co-helmsman of Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, which lost to Burling’s Emirates Team New Zealand in 2021. Spithill is best known for skippering Ellison’s Oracle Team USA to consecutive America’s Cup victories.

Despite the loss, the Aussies extended their season lead to 11 points over ROCKWOOL Denmark. The Kiwis jumped into third place, one point behind Denmark and two ahead of Emirates Great Britain in the 10-boat fleet. The top three teams at season’s end will advance to the $2 million, winner-take-all Grand Final.

With the three catamarans coming together in light wind at the final mark, a last-minute penalty denied Canada the win while the Kiwis made the hard right turn and hit the finish line barely ahead of the Aussies.

“Foiling into the bottom mark, it was anyone’s game,” Burling stated. “We had a tough lock on the boat for about 20 seconds making an attempt to make that flip, so it was an incredible job by the crew to drag off a superb final jibe and provides ourselves a shot.”

Wing trimmer Blair Tuke said the crew was initially subdued because it didn’t know it had won, “but when it was confirmed it was a huge moment for the team.”

It was an enormous comeback for the Kiwis after their 29-meter (95-foot) wing sail out of the blue shattered and fell overboard on the finish of the primary day of the Saint-Tropez regatta in early September, forcing them to overlook the following regatta.

“Today was our first day again crusing with it, and naturally that performs on our minds however we got here out and confirmed how robust we’re,” Tuke said. “This team has a huge amount of grit.”

The new-look Team USA, skippered by Taylor Canfield, completed third within the last fleet race however was eighth total, dropping it from third to fifth within the season standings.

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Follow Bernie Wilson on X at https://twitter.com/berniewilson

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AP sports activities: https://apnews.com/sports