Flying Roos bound to victory over GBR and Spain in Auckland

Australia’s Bond Flying Roos found the edge over Emirates GBR and Spain’s Los Gallos crew to win the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix on Sunday. The result marks a second successive victory in Auckland for the Australians.

In tough conditions which forced an earlier start than originally planned, SailGP split its fleet for the first time on a race day following the catastrophic collision between New Zealand’s Black Foils and DS Team France on Saturday.

The fleet, reduced from 13 F50s to 11 in the wake of the accident, was split into two groups, as follows:

Group A: FRA (out), NZL (out), GBR, GER, BRA, CAN, ITA

Group B: AUS, ESP, DEN, SWE, SUI, USA

Emirates GBR won both its group races to qualify for the final. In Group B, the Flying Roos followed up their Saturday Race 1 win with another victory, then made sure of the final with second place to the United States in the last fleet race of the weekend.

NorthStar Canada hit 102 km/h bearing away at the top mark. The all-time SailGP record is 103.93 km/h. That tells you everything about the conditions in Auckland.

With gusts screaming through at 30-plus knots, Group A's five boats were on the ragged edge from start to finish. Germany's Erik Heil nailed the start and led early, but this was always going to be a race of attrition. By the midpoint, Giles Scott's Canadians had taken control, sailing cleanly while others fought just to stay upright.

Then came the final leg. Emirates GBR had clawed back into contention, and with patchy pressure playing havoc across the course, Fletcher saw his moment. An aggressive hook manoeuvre forced NorthStar wide, and the Brits slotted inside to take the position that mattered. Canada tried to fight back on the run to the line but couldn't find a way through.

It was textbook match-racing from Fletcher in conditions where most crews were just hanging on. Britain crossed first, Canada second, and Germany in third. With heavyweights New Zealand and France in Group A but unable to race, the Brits had arguably landed on the easier side of the draw.

The Flying Roos fluffed their start, boxed in and slow off the line while Switzerland and Denmark surged clear. But by Gate 2, they were leading.

The turnaround came on the first downwind. Slingsby found a windshift, threaded the needle through the chaos, and suddenly the Roos were flying. From there, it was a masterclass in ride control – flat, fast, minimal manoeuvres – to take the race win.

Nathan Outteridge's Artemis, equally poor off the start, recovered to lock in second. Taylor Canfield's USA fought back from an early penalty to claim third. Switzerland had looked sharp until someone seemingly pressed the wrong button mid-race, and they dropped off their foils. Spain's board mechanism failed entirely, leaving Los Gallos limping at the back.

“Very challenging conditions,” said Slingsby from the water. “The bullets are a lot harder today. If you get a real strong bullet into the bottom mark, it's a real handful.”

Emirates GBR nailed the start – a full-speed launch that had the Brits hitting 90 km/h by the first mark. From there, it was textbook race management. No drama, no wobbles, just flawless execution. The British team were already debriefing onboard as they crossed the finish line.

Behind them, the battle for second was far messier. Phil Robertson's Red Bull Italy looked sharp early on but pushed too hard through a gybe and fell off the foils – a mistake that cost the Italians hundreds of metres. Erik Heil's Germany capitalised, climbing to second with composed, error-free sailing in the challenging conditions, as Giles Scott's NorthStar Canada took third.

“Fantastic racing out here today,” said Fletcher. “Super puffy and shifty, but we're just trying to make the most of it.”

With two race wins from two in Group A, Emirates GBR had all but secured their spot in the winner-takes-all Final.

Taylor Canfield – a match-racing world champion before he ever stepped onto an F50 – delivered a masterclass in race craft in Race 6. A beautiful start saw the USA team take an early lead.

In Auckland's patchy breeze the fleet was shuffled continually – USA ahead off the start, then Los Gallos cutting through on the third leg, then the Flying Roos surging on the fourth. But Taylor Canfield's Americans kept finding answers, extending to over 200 metres on the penultimate leg and crossing the line first with an impressive 100% flight time.

Behind them, the real drama was playing out. Artemis needed to beat Los Gallos to make the Final – a mirror of Perth, where the Swedish team was fighting for qualification in their final fleet race. Once again it was another gutting near-miss for Nathan Outteridge’s team as Botín's crew got the job done, protecting their position despite a costly boundary error mid-race.

Flying Roos took second, Los Gallos third, and so the Final was set: Australia, Great Britain, Spain.

The only three teams to have won a SailGP title. This was the Battle of the Champions, and it lived up to the billing.

Los Gallos launched off the start line first and hit 100 km/h by the top mark, with the Flying Roos and Emirates GBR chasing close behind. Six seconds between the boats at Gate 2, down to just four at Gate 3. The lead changed hands as all three hunted for pressure in different corners of a course battered by 45 km/h winds, driving rain, and a sky that had turned black.

Tom Slingsby found the moment to attack. Australia put dirty air on Spain, controlled the left boundary, and stretched clear on the final upwind. By the time they crossed the line – still doing over 80 km/h – no one was close.

Emirates GBR split at Gate 4, rolling the dice on a shift. It didn't win them the Final, but it was enough to grab second from Los Gallos as Fletcher squeezed past the Spanish at the final mark.

Tom Slingsby's Flying Roos are back on top. It's their second consecutive Auckland win – and their first event victory since – with Glenn Ashby again stepping in as super-sub to help the three-time champions prove they're far from finished.

Elsewhere, the weekend told different stories. Emirates GBR looked imperious in the fleet races but couldn't catch Australia when it mattered. Los Gallos recovered from their Perth nightmare to make the Final, while Artemis suffered another agonising near-miss in qualification.

The Flying Roos and Emirates GBR now share the lead in the Season 6 standings. Next stop: Sydney Harbour, 28 February - 1 March. The Black Foils are unlikely to be there – a devastating blow for the Kiwis, who only just got their F50 back after Perth – and France's return depends on the size of the repair job. Two weeks isn't long.

RACE 3 (GROUP A)
1 Great Britain
2 Canada
3 Germany
4 Italy
5 Brazil 

RACE 4 (GROUP B)
1 Australia
2 Sweden
3 United States
4 Switzerland
5 Denmark
6 Spain

RACE 5 (GROUP A)
1 Great Britain
2 Germany
3 Canada
4 Italy
5 Brazil

RACE 6 (GROUP B)
1 United States
2 Australia
3 Spain
4 Sweden
5 Switzerland
DNS Denmark

FINAL
1 Australia
2 Great Britain
3 Spain