'It seems quite Australian': Kiwi's five-word sledge lights fuse as SailGP rivalry hits Sydney Harbour

Kiwi sailing great Peter Burling has lit the fuse on a fierce trans-Tasman battle for supremacy on Sydney Harbour, with the SailGP fleet set to race around Shark Island this weekend.

In the third grand prix of a 14-race 2024/25 season, the 12 boats representing 12 different nations are preparing to race at speeds of about 90km/h on one of the most iconic harbours in the world.

New Zealand, helmed by Burling, sit equal top of the standings after a hot start to the season in Dubai and Auckland, with Tom Slinsgby's Australia just one point back in third.

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But Burling is hungry to get his own back on Slingsby's crew after the Aussie boat sailed to victory in Auckland last month, closing the gap between two of the favourites to win the championship in the overall standings.

Slingsby's Team Australia crew has won three of the four SailGP championships since the series' inception and they are also the reigning champions in Sydney, where Slingsby celebrated with a shoey on Shark Island last year.

Although it has never won the series, Burling's team has been a consistent contender, with the Kiwis and Dylan Fletcher's Great Britain setting the pace so far this season.

With Australia and New Zealand contributing more sailors than any other nation to the SailGP fleet, the rivalry between the two nations is good natured but ferociously competitive.

Speaking in Friday's press conference, Burling was at his patriotic best when asked about Slingsby's shoey celebration, making it clear that he didn't want anything to do with any custom that can be traced back to Australia.

"I'm not a massive fan to be honest ... it seems quite Australian," Burling said, with a half smile.

"Being a proud Kiwi I think I might just steer clear of that one but we'll definitely be trying pretty hard this weekend, like every weekend, but it'd definitely be a sweet one to try and take a win here in Sydney."

Slingsby, meanwhile reflected on the incredible progress SailGP had made over the past four years, with a 12-boat fleet set to take the water for the first time this weekend. The series has grown from six boats in the first season and the Sydney races will be the first where each of the 12 nations involved in this years series have each been able to field a boat.

"Everything's lining up well, it's great to have the French team back in the line-up," Slingsby said. "We're racing with 12 boats, we haven't done that before.

"For me, just coming back to Sydney every time it's kind of a reminder of how much SailGP's grown over the years. When we first started we had half as many boats and probably a third as many events and now where we are as a league, it's pretty impressive."

While New Zealand are one of Australia's fiercest rivals, they're not the only boat Slingsby and company would like to cross the line ahead of this weekend, with the Italian crew now boasting top Aussie wing trimmer Kyle Langford after offering him a massive five-year deal to poach him from Slingsby's crew.

Langford has had two grands prix to get acclimated to his new teammates but the Italians currently languish in 11th spot, clear of only the Brazilians.

The man who relentlessly chased Langford was Team Italy's CEO Jimmy Spithill, ironically another Aussie, who was wearing a huge grin when asked about the coup on Friday.

"I think it's cool to see," he said. "I think it's great seeing these sort of transfers, because it just shows how important it is.

"There's millions and millions of dollars on the line here, for these guys and girls, it's serious. So we're going to do whatever it takes to win."

Slingsby added with a grimace that he had been dealing with Spithill's attempted poaching since the Italian team had been confirmed for a start in 2024/25 and was happy to have chased him off in each case apart from Langford's.

"I get it, if I was him, if I was a new team, I had good relationships with the Australian team who has been successful, I would be doing exactly the same thing," Slingsby said.

"I said to Jimmy when I knew he was chasing Kyle, I said to him, 'mate, what are you doing? Leave him alone, he's with us, back off,' and he goes 'look, we need him. We need him on our team. We need someone who's got experience, who's had success, who the guys can get behind, and I'm sorry but I'm going to keep going after him'."

Sydney Harbour plays host to SailGP across Saturday and Sunday, February 8-9, with racing starting at 3pm (AEDT) on both days.