Team Oman Air took every opportunity on the Sydney Harbour race course today and cornered the podium to close the gap at the top of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 8 leaderboard as the rivalry with Alinghi intensifies.

After two days of nail-biting action with nine races completed, Oman Air were lying in second place behind rivals Alinghi, having clawed back a vital point to sit two points adrift with two days of competition left in this thrilling 2016 Extreme Sailing Series winner takes all title decider.

A strong but variable breeze with gusts up to around 25 knots gave the fleet an uncertain welcome when competition started persuading organisers to split racing into two groups.

This proved challenging, admitted Oman Air skipper and helmsman Morgan Larson before the wind changed direction to set up some of the best and closest action of the Act so far.

“We started with wind from the west which was very unstable and tactically challenging,” Larson explained.

“We struggled a little bit but then the wind switched to south east and we had some great racing. It really felt like the guys were working well together and sailing the boat well.”

The team notched up two podium places in the first two races then finished another shortened day with another two podium spots to complete the set.

“The last two races were probably two of the best we’ve had here, not just for us but the whole fleet and we came out of it well which is what we needed to do to catch up a bit with Alinghi.

“So now we know. It’s going to be close.”

Larson’s crew of Pete Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth, James Wierzbowski and Omani Nasser Al Mashari arrived in Sydney early ahead of this last Act to step up their preparations before the final push for 2016 championship honours and that time spent in the boat was paying dividends said Al Mashari.

“The last two races today were fantastic – our boat handling was really good and we really nailed the starts which is something we’ve been working on so we are very happy,” he said.

“It was a very tough day because the wind was very shifty – the pressure was up and down in the first races but then we had great conditions in the 4th and 5th race on a good sailing course.

“It feels great to be second on the leaderboard and we are looking forward to tomorrow and the last day.”

Racing in Sydney continues Saturday through to Sunday, culminating in a double points final race which could decide the 2016 Extreme Sailing Series title after a year long campaign.

Online coverage will continue on Saturday at www.extremesailingseries.com with Twitter updates and real-time 3D visuals, live leaderboards and vital statistics such as average and top speeds, distance sailed and number of manoeuvres performed.