The Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix, the 5th SailGP event of 2026, After the win in Rio, Tom Slingsby and the Australian team Bonds Flying Roos (8, 1, 2, 1) quickly got back into the groove with two wins from three races to top the first day’s leaderboard.
The Aussies are tied on 32 pts with Diego Botín and Spain’s Los Gallos (4, 3, 1, 4) with Taylor Canfield and the US SailGP Team (1, 5, 7,3) in third with 28 pts.
Those three top teams took the race wins, leaving in fourth Germany (3, 6, 3, 7) tied on 25 pts with Canada (2, 4, 5, 8) fifth.
In sixth are the Brits (5, 7, 8, 5) still looking for a way back to the front . . . ‘Now we need to just stop getting in all this trouble’ as Fletcher put it!
DS Automobiles Team France missed race 3 when stand-in wing trimmer Glenn Ashby suffered an injury (broken ankle) crossing the trampoline during race two.
The French were initially sidelined; however, but returned in race four, thanks to an emergency athlete registration of Bonds Flying Roos reserve athlete Tom Needham stepping into the wing trimmer role.
Sweden’s Artemis did not compete after discovering a technical issue onboard in pre-race practice, the SailGP tech team is working on a repair to get the Swedish crew back on the starting line Sunday.
The Danes Rockwool Racing also had problems, their board controls failing in race 2 and requiring a jury-rigged trip line to function with difficulty. This is the fourth regatta in a row where they have lost a day in a regatta. Another one for the SailGP Tech Team.
Another team with problems were Red Bull Italy’s hydraulic system sprang a leak and turned the trampoline into a skating rink.
And of course the New Zealand Black Foils Team are still awaiting their new F50 currently in build Southampton UK.
Saturday racing: races 1 to 4 using the 24m mid-range Wingsails for the fleet, along with high-speed foils and rudders. Three more fleet races Sunday and the Grand Final race.
Saturday Race 1:
USA lead from start to finish to win ahead of Canada after Giles Scott squeezed in at the final mark putting Germany down to third, Spain take fourth and Dylan Fletcher took fifth with a finish-line move to go ahead of Italy.
Saturday Race 2:
Australia great start with USA and Canada, with Australia leading at mark 1 from USA, Denmark and Spain with GBR 5th. Australia took a 10sec lead from USA and Canada at mark 2, GBR back in eighth.
Slingsby kept the lead all the way to the finish. Second were Denmark and then Spain came round the outside of Canada at the final mark to grab third on the line from Canada. GBR finished seventh.
Saturday Race 3:
Again it was Australia who took the lead at mark 1, with Spain, Brazil, Swiss and USA, GBR were 6th. Spain caught the AUS at gate 4 and took lead all the way to the Finish. Second were Australia, third Germany and fourth the Swiss. The Brits came in eighth and are struggling to get their game together.
Saturday Race 4:
Finally, the very frustrated Dylan Fletcher got Emirates GBR into a decent start position, even if that did drop to 6th at the first mark. Italy led from Australia and the USA at mark 1, but Slingsby quickly took the lead and held it too the finish.
Second was Italy, third USA and fourth Spain. The Brits finished fifth,to equal their best of the day!
The Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix returns with racing from 14:00 hrs local time on Sunday 10 May 2026.
For British fans the racing starts at 18:00 hrs and will be reported here.
