Flying Roos bounce to third win of 2026 in Bermuda

Australia completed a second consecutive SailGP event victory in Bermuda on Sunday. Tom Slingsby's Flying Roos led the event final from start to finish to claim the Aussies’ third win of season six.

In conditions lighter than Saturday’s on The Great Sound, Spain and Germany made up the podium places in the winner-takes-all final as the fleet navigated a low-end foiling day.

Second-placed championship sitters Great Britain finished in fourth in front of newly branded Explora Swiss. Northstar Canada, who were very nearly the heroes as they threatened to gatecrash the podium, finished in sixth.

Round five of season six puts Australia ten points clear at the top of the championship standings, painting a picture that is becoming increasingly one-sided.

Sunday also saw the return of Artemis Sweden, who missed day one following a structural failure on board the newest F50 in the fleet. SailGP Technologies’ work to return the fleet to 11 boats made for a more congested race track that only saw nine boats at times on Saturday.

Diego Botin took first blood immediately. The overnight co-leaders started Sunday’s racing with serious intent, acing the start at the windward end of the line with an impressive jump on the fleet by mark one.

In the first half of the race, France was the closest pursuer. An impressive start for the team who had a tough day yesterday due to a serious injury to wing trimmer Glenn Ashby. Ashby, a stand-in trimmer himself, was replaced by Artemis reserve sailor, Dave Gilmour. The French will be very happy after finishing race one in third place, especially given their day prior.

Ahead of the French, Los Gallos solidified their incredible start with a strong win in front of Australia.

Snakes and ladders defined race six. Italy’s Phil Robertson was the first to dish out a snake to the Spanish as he locked out the top-ranked team at the time, Los Gallos, at the windward end of the line.

The move forced Botin into a 360-degree turn to ensure he crossed the start line. Meanwhile, the Aussies came out of the blocks fast to lead at mark one before the Spanish had even started.

At the sharp end behind the Aussies, it was looking like a place in the event final was being handed on a plate to Northstar Canada. Third-placed USA, going into race six, were buried deep on the first leg and off the foils. 

A dismal-looking American team, coupled with an incredible start from double Olympic gold medallist Giles Scott, put Canada in second place around mark one and provisionally into the event final.

At the end of the fourth leg, an unforced error from the Canadians, potentially influenced by turbulent air, put them amongst the chasing pack. A subsequent infringement by Artemis and a set of non-foiling manoeuvres sent the Canadians plummeting into last place and out of podium contention.

Taking advantage was two-time Olympic bronze medallist Erik Heil, who put Germany into third overall with a fifth-place finish in the race won by Australia. 

Germany carried on their form with a perfect start in the seventh. It turned out to be a preview for the event final as Germany, Australia and Spain rounded mark one in the podium positions.

As the Germans extended their lead, a mis-manoeuvre by the Aussies led to Spain overtaking the Flying Roos. It was the only key place change in the top three and likely served as a psychological win for Botin to carry into the event final.

Heil’s Germany was back to winning ways. The team crossed the line 33 seconds ahead of the Spanish and secured the team’s first place in a final since Cadiz in season five.

Erik said, “Yeah, we had a good feeling for the breeze here. We found a few lines down the track. For us, it was just about keeping eyes open and staying in the next gust, that helped us quite a lot.”

The breeze lightened further, and crews went from six to five, putting more pressure on manoeuvres that were already made hard due to the high-speed foils being at the lower end of their wind range.

As the claxon sounded the start of the final, the placings flipped compared to race seven as the Aussies led Spain and Germany to mark one.

Los Gallos, in a fourth consecutive final, pushed to force a split with the Australians but executed more manoeuvres and sailed extra distance as a result. A roll of the dice by Botin in an attempt to go for the win. Unfortunately, it didn’t pay. 

The extra metres sailed by the Spanish brought Germany Deutsche Bank into the mix for second. Although it wasn’t to be for Erik Heil and his team, as Spain put in a perfectly positioned defensive move at the last mark to protect their second place. 

Meanwhile, Australia relished their winning moment. They led the final from start to finish, taking a convincing victory, the Roos’ second consecutive event win and their third of season six. A result that tops up their total prize money for the season to over $1.4 million USD.

Driver Tom Slingsby said, “It feels amazing. We sailed so well all week and to do it here, which is a second home for us for a long time. We love it here in Bermuda. It’s just so amazing to come back and win in front of everyone.”

Slingsby, laser-focused on the season finale, said, “We're doing well on the wins lately, but obviously winning at the end of the year is the big thing, but we're right on track. The team is sailing well, we’ve got an amazing team behind these guys with our shore team.”

Australia's grip on season six is tightening. Three event wins from five rounds, and a championship lead that is growing with each regatta, means the burden of proof is shifting firmly onto the chasing pack.

For Germany, a first final since Cadiz is a timely reminder of what Heil's team is capable of. For Spain, four consecutive finals show they have the consistency that could prove vital in the title race.

Slingsby's team leave Bermuda with the most to smile about as the fleet sets its eyes on the next round in New York, a pivotal point where the fleet will be desperate to slow the runaway Australians before the championship gap becomes too difficult to close.

RACE 5
1 Spain
2 Australia
3 France
4 Sweden
5 Great Britain
6 Italy
7 Switzerland
8 Brazil
9 Germany
10 United States
11 Denmark
12 Canada

RACE 6
1 Australia
2 Switzerland
3 France
4 Sweden
5 Germany
6 Denmark
7 Italy
8 Great Britain
9 Spain
10 United States
11 Brazil
12 Canada

RACE 7
1 Germany
2 Spain
3 Australia
4 Canada
5 Great Britain
6 Switzerland
7 Italy
8 France
9 United States
10 Sweden
11 Denmark
12 Brazil

FINAL
1 Australia
2 Spain
3 Germany

BERMUDA SAIL GRAND PRIX FINAL STANDINGS
1 Australia 10 pts
2 Spain 9
3 Germany 8
4 Great Britain 7
5 Switzerland 6
6 Canada 5
7 United States 4
8 Italy 3
9 France 2
10 Denmark 1
11 Sweden 0
12 Brazil 0

2026 SAILGP CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1 Australia 45
2 Great Britain 35
3 Spain 34
4 United States 31
5 France
6 Germany 23
7 Sweden 23
8 Italy 18
9 Denmark 18
10 Canada 12
11 Switzerland 7
12 Brazil 7
13 New Zealand 2