On Thursday, 5 September, Emirates Team New Zealand faced off against Orient Express from France in what proved to be a decisive race. With Emirates Team New Zealand already positioned near the top of the leaderboard and Orient Express fighting to stay in the competition, the stakes were high.
At the start of the race, Orient Express faltered as their boat fell off its foils, allowing Emirates Team New Zealand to seize an early advantage. The French team struggled to regain their foiling status and found themselves lagging over 500 metres behind.
After a minute of struggling, Orient Express managed to get back on their foils, but by this point, Emirates Team New Zealand had also experienced difficulties and had briefly lost their foiling position halfway through the first leg. As the French team closed the gap, they eventually took the lead while the New Zealanders were off their foils.
The French rounded the first gate at 5:05, with Emirates Team New Zealand following 21 seconds later. During the second leg, Orient Express surged ahead, building a 300-metre lead. However, the French team was unable to maintain their advantage for long. Just before reaching gate 2, Orient Express fell off their foils once again, giving New Zealand an opportunity to reclaim the lead.
Emirates Team New Zealand capitalised on this opportunity, rounding gate 2 just 14 seconds after the French. Orient Express struggled to get back on their foils, allowing the New Zealand team to extend their lead to 500 metres, which continued to grow as the race progressed.
By the time Emirates Team New Zealand passed through gate 3 at 13:01, they were 900 metres ahead of the French. Orient Express entered the last leg 1 minute and 53 seconds later, trailing by 1,000 metres. Despite their efforts, the French team continued to struggle with their foiling.
Emirates Team New Zealand completed gate 4 at 15:57, while Orient Express was still off their foils. Although the French team eventually managed to get back on their foils, they were 1,700 metres behind, effectively sealing the victory for New Zealand.
In the final leg, Emirates Team New Zealand crossed gate 5 at 19:50. Orient Express remained off their foils and was still in leg 4, rendering their final finishing position largely irrelevant.
The race highlighted the superiority of Emirates Team New Zealand, as their consistent performance and ability to overcome difficulties secured them a resounding victory. The New Zealanders finished with a time of 23:43, a substantial 3,500 metres ahead of the French team, who struggled throughout and could not compete effectively in the latter stages of the race.
