Emirates GBR misses out on Rolex Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix Final by one point
by Emirates GBR SailGP Team 16 Mar 2025 23:30 PDT
15-16 March 2025
The SailGP fleet led by Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team helmed by Dylan Fletcher ahead of France SailGP Team, Switzerland SailGP Team, USA SailGP Team and Spain SailGP Team on Race Day 2 of the Rolex Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix © Simon Bruty for SailGP
The Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team has missed out on its first final of the 2025 Season by just one point. Despite winning two of the three fleet races on Race Day 2 of the Rolex Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix, the British team was pipped to the third spot in the final by Australia.
It was a nail-biting watch as Emirates GBR gave it their all to win the seventh fleet race of the event, but the crew needed Australia to finish eighth or lower to secure their spot in the final. Up until the final mark the Aussies were in eighth behind the USA SailGP Team, but they managed to overtake the home team on the final leg and crush Emirates GBR’s hopes of making their fourth final in as many events. Australia was joined by New Zealand and Canada in the winner-takes-all final, and it ended with former Emirates GBR Driver Giles Scott securing his first win with the Canadian team.
Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher said: "It was certainly a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions after we crossed the finish line with the win in that last race. We thought the Americans had done it and they were going to take the Aussies, but they said they stuffed their last tack which left it open, hats off to the Aussies they did a great job in that race. It’s obviously disappointing to miss out on the final by just one point, but I’m really proud of how the team came out swinging today. We won two races in the difficult light conditions, with only four of us on-board rather than the usual six, so hopefully we can continue that form going into the San Francisco event next weekend.”
With just four people on-board each F50 due to the light conditions, Emirates GBR Strategist Hannah Mills had to jump on the grinding handles and provide the power to maneuver the wing in place of usual Grinders Nick Hutton and Neil Hunter. Despite the light air, Emirates GBR nailed the start of the fifth race and managed to lead the fleet by racing with one hull in the water to reduce the drag in the non-foiling conditions. The Brits maintained that lead to the end of the shortened course and secured the needed win to boost them up the leaderboard and get them closer to entering the all-important three-boat final.
The British team had a difficult start on the sixth race with them being shut out alongside USA at the start line, leaving them in 10th place at the first leg. In the lighter airs it was going to be a challenge to make gains on the course but the crew managed to climb up to sixth place at the finish. It was then a matter of all or nothing for Emirates GBR in the final fleet race of the event, and they came out fighting to nail the start and lead the fleet by almost an entire leg, securing their second win of the day.
Despite not making it into the final, Emirates GBR still sits top of the Rolex SailGP Championship 2025 Season leaderboard with 34 points, while Australia are second with 32 and New Zealand third with 29. It will be all to race for next weekend in San Francisco, for the second installment of SailGP’s first ever double-header. UK viewers can watch the action live on TNT Sports on 22 and 23 March.