SAILGP

Diego Botín believes teams must be willing to race on the edge to win in SailGP’s increasingly competitive fleet – and nowhere was that more evident than in Spain’s dramatic victory at the Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax.

Los Gallos SailGP Team returned to the top step of the podium for the first time since the 2025 New York Sail Grand Prix a year ago after surviving a succession of high-pressure battles throughout Sunday’s racing.

But according to driver Botín, the result was built on a conscious decision to embrace risk.

“The fleet is so close that you need to take high risks to have a chance to win,” he said. “It’s about threading the needle. It’s very easy to end up on the wrong side of that line, so you have to decide beforehand what mindset you’re going to race with.”

That approach was tested repeatedly across the day.

Los Gallos found themselves locked in a fierce fight with the Black Foils for a place in the three-boat Final. New Zealand mounted a remarkable comeback in the closing stages of the fleet race, but Spain held on by just a handful of meters to secure progression.

The Final proved no less intense.

Battling with Artemis SailGP Team for the top spot, Botín and his crew were forced into a critical tactical decision at the final top gate. While the right-hand option appeared favoured, Los Gallos committed to a different route, backing themselves to stay on the foils through the turn.

The gamble worked.

“We really focused on nailing the layline and staying on the foils through the left-hand turn,” Botín explained. “In the end, it paid off by a very small margin.”

The victory extends Los Gallos’ impressive consistency in 2026 – and hands them their first Grand Prix win of the season. In every event they have contested this season the Season 4 champions have finished on the podium, underlining their status as one of the most reliable teams in the fleet.

“It feels like the team has really good momentum this season,” said Botín. “We’re improving all the time and that’s really encouraging.”

For one of SailGP’s most fiercely contested events of the season, Halifax delivered a simple lesson: in a fleet this close, fortune favors the bold.

SailGP heads across the pond to Europe next, starting with the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth on July 25-26.

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