Peter Burling and Blair Tuke's ever extending lead in the 49er European Championships, being sailed in Barcelona this week, is the talking point of the competition.

The pair are now 34 points in front with two days of the regatta remaining. The regatta has shifted up a gear, dropping from 72 to 25 boats in the gold fleet finals.

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are extending their championship lead. Picture: Sailing Energy.

'While teams were impressed with their performances back at the 2013 World Championship in Marseille or the 2013 European Championship in Aarhus, it was generally assumed that once the fleet really got into the quad and everyone was at top capacity, the fleet would claw them back, as it always seems to be able to do in Olympic classes with so many minds fighting for every inch and relatively few equipment variable to leave systemic gains hidden,” says the 49er Class Manager Ben Remocker.

'Clawing back the Kiwis has not happened, far from it. Their wins in Buenos Aires for Worlds 2015, Clearwater for Worlds 2016, were both by untouchable margins by the end, and they are 34 points ahead of second place already.”

Burling and Tuke have won eight of 12 races sailed in Barcelona this week, and finished top three in all but two.

'Burling and Tuke continue to put on a master class the likes of which sailing may never have seen if they can hold through to London,” says Ben.

'If they win out the rest of this this regatta, Hyeres, the South American's and then of course Rio itself, Burling and Tuke will have won 28 straight 49er regattas, and won every regatta of an entire quadrennial.”

Australians Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen are lying 2nd overall, 34 points behind the NZL Sailing Team pair. After a solid day on the water the Australian's have advanced from Great Britain's John Pink and Stuart Bithell who are in 3rd place and 19 points adrift.

Argentina's Yago and Claus Lange were only a point away from missing the gold fleet cut off, but in a showing of how deep the 49er fleet is these days pulled all the way up to 12th after scoring a 7, 3 and 2 on the day.

'We would have won the last race, but Burling and Tuke just kept shortening our lead,” says Claus.

'Every tiny error we made they would pull back some meters, until they were passed us. They are incredible.”

In the 49erFX Alex Maloney and Molly Meech had a mixed day on the course and have slipped down the standings to ninth as a result.

In today's first two races the NZL Sailing Team crew placed 20th and 22nd, bouncing back in the 3rd race with a 6th place finish. They're on 81 points behind the leaders Spain's Tamara Echegoyen and Berta Betanzos on 39. One point separates them from Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich, of Italy.

The Aon Fast Track Squad 49erFX crew of Erica Dawson and Ellie Copeland had a similar day with one keeper and a couple of average results – they're now in 19th overall.

Logan Dunning-Beck and Jack Simpson, also Aon Fast Track Squad sailors, had their best day of the regatta yet returning three single digit results racing in the 49er gold fleet. They move up the ranks to 14th overall.

The regatta has two days of competition remaining, with the podium places set to be determined on Saturday in Spain.

2016 49er and 49erFX European Championships, Barcelona, Spain

New Zealand's current standings

49er

1st Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (1, 1, 2, 1, 3, 1, 6, 1, 1, 1,6, 1)

14th Logan Dunning-Beck and Jack Simpson (9, 11, 17, 15, 14, 10, 5, 21, 14, 7, 9, 5)

49erFX

9th Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (1, 4, 4, 5, 5, 11, 2, 12, 1, 20, 22, 6)

19th Erica Dawson and Ellie Copeland (10, 9, 9, 7, 15, 11, 2, 4, 10, 4, 28, 25)

Regatta website: http://49er.org/2016-european-championship/