The duo were one of four teams separated by two points heading into the penultimate day of racing but moved to the top of the standings after taking the opening win of the day as their rivals faltered.

A seventh place finish in the second race saw their tally for the week move onto 49 points.

Croatia’s Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic came third and are just one point off the leaders heading into the decisive medal race.

Rio 2016 qualification was also up for grabs for several of the crews with Finland, Germany, Argentina, Turkey and South Africa all booking their places at next year’s Olympic Games, leaving Israel, China and South Korea battling for the final berth tomorrow.

The race lead changed hands yet again in the women’s competition with Britain’s Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark dropping to second following a 16th place finish in the opening race of the day which damagedtheir chances.

Even with a  16th place from earlier in the competition discarded, their 12th on the first day of the Championships was added to their score, allowing their nearest rivals Lara Vadlau and Jola Ogar to capitalise.

The Austrians recorded finished first and second in the two races to move their overall total to 35 points and look poised to win the title with the Britons now 18 points off the lead.

Poland and Germany secured Rio 2016 places ahead of the medal race, with Australia boasting an 11 point advantage over the remaining countries who are yet to secure their place in the 470 class at next year’s Olympics.

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