Sailing: Blair Tuke, Peter Burling surge to top of standings at World 49er Championships

Kiwi sailing aces Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have moved into pole position for a world title, after a stellar day's racing at the 49er championships in Auckland.

Starting Saturday in second place, the dynamic duo bolted to the top of the leaderboard through their three races to edge ahead of Germans Erik Heil and Thomas Ploesse on a blustery day on the Waitemata Harbour.

With a 25-point gap between second and third, the contest seems between those two crews to clinch the title, which would be Burling and Tuke's fifth.

But with a host of racing left on Sunday's final day - including the double-points medal race for the top 10 - the Kiwis realise they still have plenty of work ahead of them to secure the top of the podium.

"We'll go and debrief today, and figure out a plan for tomorrow," said Burling. "It's a pretty windy forecast and we'll have to make a plan around that. 

"It's looking quite different to what these last few days have been. It will be a cool day."

Adding to the final day intrigue are the prospect of medals for the other two Kiwi crews involved.

Logan Dunning Beck and Oscar Gunn pushed from eighth to fifth on the penultimate day, while Issac McHardie and William McKenzie leapt from 14th to ninth.