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Drive to Survive on water: Doco offers fascinating insight into Aussie SailGP ‘beast’

Amanda LulhamNews Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
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Camera IconNot Supplied Credit: Supplied

It’s a wet and wild version of Drive to Survive starring three Australians, spectacular foiling speed machines, adrenaline-rush racing and with a guest appearance from a whale which saved the day for Australia.

And now the final edition of the docuseries Racing on the Edge, which goes behind the scenes of a thrilling season two grand final of the SailGP series in San Francisco, has dropped and is available on Kayo Freebies.

Stream all the racing action from SailGP Season 2 Live & Free on Kayo Freebies. Join now and start streaming instantly >

This intimate glimpse behind the facade of an event revolutionising sailing has more surprises than two bone-shaking crashes between F50s and the unexpected appearance of a marine mammal on the racecourse in the shadow of the famous Golden Gate Bridge which turned the grand final of this global sporting event on its head.

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It’s a story of skippers Tom Slingsby, Nathan Outteridge and James Spithill who have raced Olympics and America’s Cup together and against each other and are now the fiercest of rivals on the world stage for three countries competing for a $US1 million dollar payday.

While their cutting-edge wing-sail catamarans, capable of reaching speeds in excess of 50 knots, provide some of the best footage in sport, it is the men who command the spotlight.

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Australia SailGP Team helmed by Tom Slingsby: Thomas Lovelock for SailGP.
Camera IconAustralia SailGP Team helmed by Tom Slingsby: Thomas Lovelock for SailGP. Credit: Supplied

Attention is primarily focused on London Olympic gold medallist, America’s Cup winner and multiple world champion Slingsby, a man who sails at his best when his “beast” is released.

“A coach once said to me when someone asked him, how do you deal with Tom and his temper when he loses his cool, and he said, ‘Look, you can’t kill the beast. The beast is the reason he’s the best in the world’,” said Slingsby, who is notoriously reticent about his motivations, in a revealing and intimate moment.

Stream all the racing action from SailGP Season 2 Live & Free on Kayo Freebies. Join now and start streaming instantly >

London Olympic teammate and fellow gold medallist Outteridge, now skipper of the Japanese SailGP team, also speaks openly about Slingsby’s temper or “red mist” as mind games are played out before the final day action between the Australian, Japanese and Spithill skippered US crews.

The Racing on the Edge series has blown in a new generation of fans to the sport of sailing intrigued by the battles played out by man and machine.

It provides a riveting insight into a world rarely seen – of barbed banter, mind games, friends becoming foes, foes becoming friends and team camaraderie - which captivates.

In this final episode of the docuseries series which chronicled the second edition of the SailGP series, the three write a compelling narrative touching on friendship, technological advances, relationships and sportsmanship as two spectacular capsizes almost wipe out two crews and what it means to win a $US1m grand final.

“The glory is more important than the prize money,” the winning skipper says.

Watch the behind the scenes Racing on the Edge streaming on Kayo Freebies

Originally published as Drive to Survive on water: Doco offers fascinating insight into Aussie SailGP ‘beast’

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