SAILGP

The BONDS Flying Roos scored their first Grand Prix win in a year as they claimed the spoils in Auckland to move top of the SailGP 2026 Season standings after two events.

The Australian outfit bested Emirates Great Britain and Los Gallos in a winner-takes-all battle of the champions in feisty conditions at the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix.

The three SailGP heavyweights are the only teams in the 13-strong fleet to have won a Rolex SailGP Championship – and the gloves came off as they exchanged blows on Auckland’s iconic Waitematā Harbour.

A mid-race overtake of reigning SailGP champions Emirates GBR gave Tom Slingsby’s BONDS Flying Roos the crucial advantage – and the Aussies held on to take their second consecutive Grand Prix victory in Auckland having also won there in 2025.

Emirates GBR overhauled Los Gallos just before the final mark of the race to sit second on the overall leaderboard, while the Spanish team scored their first points of the season having missed the opener in Perth with boat damage.

History was made in the City of Sails as SailGP debuted a split-fleet format on day two of the Grand Prix to reduce congestion on tight race courses.

If Saturday’s conditions were fresh, Sunday’s were bordering on frightening with gusts of up to 55 km/h barreling through the race course.

Success came to the teams able to tame their bucking F50s and coax them round the race course without too much drama.

Emirates GBR hit the ground running, stealing a race win from Canadian outfit NorthStar as Germany by Deutsche Bank and Red Bull Italy both narrowly escaped potential race-ending incidents.

The Italians spun out on the first sprint as their foils lost grip – similar to the incident that led to the Black Foils collision – while Germany almost capsized.

NorthStar hit a blistering 102 km/h at one point – just shy of SailGP’s all-time speed record of 103.93 km/h – underlining the intensity of the race.

Meanwhile in the other group the BONDS Flying Roos showed just why they’re three-time SailGP champions as they sailed through the fleet to win their opening race.

Also impressive were the U.S. SailGP Team, who scooped their first race win of the 2026 Season with an aggressive performance from match racing champion driver Taylor Canfield.

A major crash between home team the Black Foils and DS Automobiles Team France on the opening day put both teams out of the Grand Prix and resulted in racing being cut short.

Two athletes – the Black Foils’ grinder Louis Sinclair and DS Team France’s strategist Manon Audinet – were hospitalized following the incident. Both are in a stable condition.

An expert team from SailGP Technologies is assessing the F50s to determine how and when they can be fixed.

SailGP fans don’t have long to wait for the action to resume – the most exciting racing on water remains in the Southern Hemisphere for one more event, the KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix, on February 28 – March 1.

Limited tickets remain – grab yours HERE or tune in from wherever you are in the world HERE.