ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland
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40
Days
16
Hours
09
Minutes
39
Seconds
14 – 15 Feb 2026
Location
Auckland, New Zealand
Date/Time
Day 1: 14 Feb 2026 16:00
(03:00 GMT)
Day 2: 15 Feb 2026 16:00
(03:00 GMT)
Few places on earth take sailing as seriously as Auckland. When the America's Cup came to Auckland in 2021, hundreds of thousands flooded the waterfront, treating foiling catamarans like a second All Blacks. SailGP’s Season 5 debut tapped into that same energy, drawing record crowds to Waitematā Harbour and debuting those new titanium T-foils that have since transformed the fleet.
The venue itself is a tactical puzzle. Expect conditions around 15 knots – a step down from Perth's intensity, but fast enough to reward clean execution. The breeze shifts unpredictably off the city skyline and North Shore, served up on short, steep harbour chop that catches out any lapse in flight control. Well-drilled teams tend to look comfortable here; anyone still finding their feet after Perth may find less room to recover.
For Peter Burling's Black Foils, this is simultaneously the best and worst venue on the calendar – the home support is immense, but so is the weight of expectation. Australia pinched the win here in Season 5. The Kiwis will be hungry to settle that score on home water.
Past winners: Australia (Season 5)
| Pos | Team | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Tom Slingsby | 26 |
| 2 |
|
Dylan Fletcher | 19 |
| 3 |
|
Diego Botin | 15 |
| 4 |
|
Quentin Delapierre | 17 |
| 5 |
|
Nathan Outteridge | 14 |
| 6 |
|
Erik Heil | 13 |
| 7 |
|
Taylor Canfield | 11 |
| 8 |
|
Nicolai Sehested | 10 |
| 9 |
|
Peter Burling | 10 |
| 10 |
|
Giles Scott | 8 |
| 11 |
|
Sébastien Schneiter | 6 |
| 12 |
|
Martine Grael | 6 |
| 13 |
|
Phil Robertson | 3 |
Our Coverage of ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland
Black Foils collide with France as day-one racing is abandoned
The question on everyone's lips was whether 13 F50s could survive being crammed into Auckland's pressure cooker. By race three, we had our answer. The ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix – the second event of the 2026 season –...
Lightning threat puts a stop to vital practice day
On Friday 13th, it was tempting fate to push the fleet of 13 boats on to Auckland Harbour for a day of practice racing. With so few practice days on the season schedule, canning a day of sailing is a big deal. But with the threat...
Podcast Ep. 6 - ‘Hot laps’ in Auckland: Get set for SailGP in New Zealand
Click here to listen on Spotify and other platforms “These will be ‘hot laps’ with 12 other world-class teams,” says Freddie Carr as The Foil sets the scene for round two of the 2026 SailGP championship in Auckland, New Zealand...
Black Foils and Los Gallos seek Auckland retribution
The Black Foils have been in a dark mood about that penalty in Perth, and ‘Los Gallos’ have been seeing red over their lack of compensation points for a broken boat during training in Perth. While neither Burling nor Botín can...
Burling's boat coming back together
Pete Burling is feeling ready to take on the world again after the Black Foils F50 suffered that race-stopping collision with the Swiss on the first lap of the first race of the first event of SailGP Season 2026. The initial fear...
