HAMPSHIRE race ace Sir Ben Ainslie snatched his second podium place in the penultimate round of the Extreme Series.

Olympic hero Sir Ben’s BAR Racing steered his JP Morgan BAR team to third position at the latest stage in Nice, France.

Sir Ben’s team, racing in their first Extreme Sailing Series, are also within touching distance of an overall podium place.

BAR are 12 points off Team New Zealand who lie in third.

Meanwhile, Leigh McMillan’s The Wave Muscat will go into the tour finale in Sydney, Australia, in second overall despite finishing a disappointing eighth in Nice.

Sir Ben said: “It’s been challenging for all the teams but for us it’s been really good in a number of ways, we have worked on different areas and we are happy with how we developed through the week.

“Obviously we are all really looking forward to Sydney, it’s a great backdrop to race against – I really enjoy sailing there, and what a way to end the series.”

McMillan, gunning for his third consecutive world title with The Wave Muscat, said: “After such a frustrating event we will be very keen to come out in Sydney and prove ourselves. We are still very determined to win.

“We said we would push hard, we did and we won some races. We’ve really learnt from these lessons.

“We’ve had a pretty good run for the last two and a half years and it’s only a matter of time before you slip up and make mistakes.

“You learn from those, and we’ll be going into Sydney very much looking to win.”

The final round of the Extreme Sailing Series will be held from December 11-14.