Aussies win SailGP Brazil: “I’ve been holding my breath a bit around the race track”

The Australian Bonds Flying Roos team claimed the top spot in the SailGP in Brazil. Here's the action from Day Two in Guanabara Bay

It was a tricky second race day at the Enel Rio SailGP in Brazil on Sunday, 12 April. As is standard in SailGP events, the final day held 3 fleet races followed by a single winner-takes-all race for the top three teams.

The races took place in the gorgeous Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with skyscrapers nestled in the valley between Sugarloaf Mountain and the favelas. Emirates GBR strategist and three-time Olympic medalist, Hannah Mills, said that it’s “One of the more beautiful places I think I’ve ever sailed.” Adding “It was the most amazing feeling winning the gold medal here [at the 2016 Olympics].”

Mills also explained that returning the the venue was a reminder that competitive racing can be about more than just winning, “For me as a female, seeing the women’s pathway and the progression and how that’s transforming young girls when they come to talk to me, they talk about the Olympics, but they also talk about wanting to have a career in SailGP.”

However, as Mills and other competitors discovered at the 2016 Olympics, this venue isn’t without its challenges. The wind has to come around Sugarloaf Mountain, often making the bay a flukey place to sail. For Sunday’s racing in particular, this made for a chaotic right-hand side at the start line and windward marks.

As a double Olympic gold medalist and Mubadala Brazil driver, Martine Grael, explained, “It is a very tricky piece of water, especially where the SailGP is going to race, right on the Sugarloaf, and it’s very, very tricky wind, even for me.”

SailGP Enel Rio Grand Prix Race 5 – The Roos’ strong start

The Australian Bonds Flying Roos team, skippered by Tom Slingsby, made a very quick start, in first place at the first mark. With a pretty unstable breeze, it proved difficult for other teams to catch up.

With the windward marks so close to Sugarloaf, the top of the course saw teams struggling to keep their foils up. Slingsby’s team fell victim to a particularly light spot at Gate Three, opening the door for Red Bull Italy to grab the lead with some stronger wind getting them around the windward gate and off on the downwind.

However, the Italian lead didn’t last long, as Slingsby’s always-impressive Aussies took back the lead by the leeward gate. From here, they didn’t relinquish control and held on to take the day’s first win.

Red Bull Italy finished second, 17 seconds back, and Sweden’s Artemis, who had never reached a Sail GP final, secured third.

Race 6 – ‘It’s just about staying alive in this stuff’

For race six, the leaderboard was tightly packed. The Australians were on top with 38 points, closely followed by Artemis on 34. The USA team sat in third with 33 points, and the Italians were hot on their heels, hoping to take a final race spot.

A tight, hectic start saw both the Brits and the Aussies picking up penalties while the Spanish-flagged Los Gallos led at the first mark. Los Gallos managed to hold this lead on the downwind and through the first leeward gate.

However, Slingsby’s Australian team were looking quick, having recovered from their startline penalty to round the gate closely behind the Spaniards. A jostle for the lead between these two developed. But it was the Spanish who held on to first place around Gates Three and Four.

The fight wasn’t over between these two. On the downwind to Gate Five, the Australians had managed to split to the other side of the course from the Spaniards. Slingsby’s team picked up a touch more breeze on the right (looking upwind). And at the cross, it was close enough that the Australians would need to dip the starboard-tacked Spaniards.

Fatally, Diego Botin, skippering Spain, tried to close cover on their rivals and gybed to keep the Aussies off their leeward hip. In response, Slingsby and his team luffed a touch to pick up the pace, got a leeward overlap on their rivals and managed to force a windward / leeward penalty. The Spanish team dropped off their foils.

It was impressive work from the Australian team, which went on to win the race with a decent margin over the Spanish. Los Gallos held onto third against a hard-sailing Danish team.

Speaking to TNT Sports directly afterwards, Slingsby said, “It was a pretty crazy race once again. “[We] had a bit of an issue at the start and then, yeah, it’s just about staying alive in this stuff and keeping the boat on its feet.”

Strategist Natasha Bryant commented, “I think we feel like we’re sailing the boat pretty well, so that makes my job quite a bit easier. But there’s plenty of traffic around, so that makes it tricky with boats on other legs to us trying to figure out where everyone is going.”

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Race 7 – Artemis gets to their first final

Going into Race 7, the Aussies were still leading with 48 points. The Swedish team had 41 points, with the Spanish breathing down their necks just one point back. The USA team were bumped down to fourth with 36 points after a disappointing eighth in Race Six.

Before the start, Botin told TNT Sports, “It’s super hard, super puffy. With these big winds, it is super hard to manage the loads.” However, he continued, “We’re going to focus on doing another good race and see how it goes.”

A congested start with some decent foiling breeze saw teams keen to hit the line at pace. But it was a total disaster for the French team, who found themselves high above the start line with nowhere to go. Rather than bailing out, French skipper Quentin Delapierre tried to force his way in at the windward end, fouling the Aussies and ultimately resulting in their disqualification. The judges waved the black flag for the French’s reckless move.

It was the Swedish Artemis team that led around the first mark and set off downwind with the Australians in second, hot on their heels.

Once again, displaying the impressive boat speed they have shown throughout the regatta, the Australians swiftly climbed into first place. As had been the case all day, it was snakes and ladders back in the back with teams quickly picking up and dropping positions.

After Gate Four, the Flying Roos were well ahead in first, with Artemis still holding second, and the Germans pushing them very hard indeed. But around the windward gate, Artemis floundered, almost coming off their foils. By the time they regained boat control, their race for second was long gone.

The drama wasn’t quite over as the Bonds Flying Roos headed for the finish line. The hard-charging Germans had found some decent breeze and were bearing down on the Aussies. The Australians clung on and managed to cross the line a few cm ahead. In so doing, Slingby’s team took the maximum 10 points, bringing their total to 58 and guaranteeing a spot in the final.

32 seconds later, it was huge news for Artemis as they came in third. This result meant that Skipper Nathan Outteridge had reached the first-ever SailGP final for this team. Although Outteridge himself has been there with another team, Artemis was on 49 points. Los Gallos came in fourth, 48 seconds after the Aussies, getting the last place in the final with 47 points.

SailGP Final

Speaking to TNT Sports on board the Bonds Flying Roos before the final, Strategist Natasha Bryant said, “We’ll just have to see how it goes. It will be nice to have some space, finally. It’s been pretty clustered, I’ve been holding my breath a bit around the race track.”

It remained for the spectators to watch how the mindset shift, going from 12 boats to 3, impacted the teams.

The Bonds Flying Roos edged before Artemis at the start, turning around Mark One in first. On the downwind to Gate Two, the Aussies held onto their lead, again showing superior boat speed, with Botin’s Spanish team in third.

Outteridge’s Artemis did manage to challenge for the lead briefly; however, at Gate Three, the Swedish-flagged team hit a light patch. The Australians took their moment to strike, zooming ahead with impressive boat handling, keeping their F50 at pace. It went from bad to slightly worse for Sweden when they didn’t give Los Gallos enough room, and the umpires issued a penalty to the Swedes. Artemis had to slot behind the Spanish team.

By Gate Four, the Aussies were maximising their lead as Artemis lagged behind Los Gallos.

You’d be a brave person to bet against Slingsby’s team losing it from here, and sure enough – despite a brief wobble off their foils nearing the finish – the Australian team sealed a Sail GP victory.

Botin’s Spanish team came in second, showing some smooth boat handling in the difficult, patchy conditions. Outteridge’s Artemis team crossed the line last in their first SailGP final.

Sail GP overall standings

On the 2026 season Sail Grand Prix leaderboard, Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos are in first with 35 points. Emirates GBR, last year’s champions, are seven points behind on 28, and the U.S. SailGP team are in third with 27 points.

The Sail GP season is leading up to the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix Season Final from Nov 28-29, when the overall winner will be announced. Stay tuned.

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