Bernaz was the top qualifier after the first three days of competition, and continued his consistent form in the gold fleet.

He triumphed in the first race of the day at the Vallarta Yacht Club, and followed it up with a fourth-place finish to move onto 17 points.

His lead now stands 26 points over Hungary's Jonatán Vadnai in second, after he endured a more difficult day.

Vadnai placed 14^th in his first Final Series race, before a 24^th-place finish in the second which is currently his drop race.

He holds 43 points.

There is little to separate - three points to be exact - a group of five sailors from third to seventh.

New Zealand's reigning world champion Thomas Saunders enjoyed his best day at the tournament so far, placing fourth in the first race before winning the second.

He is third on 48 points, a tally matched by Ireland's Finn Lynch, who also had a good day with a seventh and second-place finish in the gold fleet.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist Tonči Stipanović is fifth on 49 points, finishing 13^th and ninth today.

Britain's Elliot Hanson was the second-best qualifier, but finished 18^th in both of today's races to slip to sixth on 51 points, a tally matched by Filip Jurišic of Croatia.

Four more races are due to be held in the gold fleet, with tomorrow the penultimate day of competition.