SailGP: Black Foils remain in contention for Season 5
by Ben Mackey 17 Aug 22:04 PDT
BlackFoils (NZ) - Day 1 - Sail GP Germany - August 16, 2025 © SailGP
Black Foils remain on equal top points in Rolex SailGP Championship despite narrowly missing final at Germany Sail Grand Prix
Despite a mixed day of results at the inaugural Germany Sail Grand Prix that saw them miss the final by just three points to eventual winners France, the Black Foils sit in second place on the season long Rolex SailGP Championship equal on points with leaders Australia's Bonds Flying Roos.
The Kiwi team had results of ninth, fifth and fifth in Sunday's races as teams pushed for places in the final in challenging variable conditions. That combination of results saw the team finish fleet racing on 38 points just behind France on 41.
France went on to defeat the Bonds Flying Roos and Emirates Great Britain in the final for their first win of the season.
Black Foils Co-CEO and Driver Peter Burling said the team would reflect on their execution across the weekend.
"We aren't happy with that as weekends go. It felt like we were very hot and cold, we'd do some things really well and then follow them with some big mistakes. It also felt like we were unlucky at other times, it felt like one of those days where there were lots of opportunities but we didn't execute. All in all coming away with a fourth was a bit of damage limitation and not a terrible result. It gives us plenty of motivation to keep pushing ahead of Saint-Tropez".
With just five points between first and fourth on the Rolex SailGP Championship after this event, Burling added that the weekend's racing showed how tight things are at the top of the leaderboard.
"It's incredible how that top group of teams are really stepping out on the leaderboard while the Germans showed it's still possible for another team to have a stand out weekend. It was great to see France get their first win in a while after a tough build up to the weekend. I think Australia were the stand out team for the weekend, we will definitely be going back through and having a look at what they were doing".
To finish Burling echoed his comments from Friday before racing started when he said the team's collective learning curve was far from over.
"Overall we are making progress with the things we are working on but there is plenty more to do and I know the team will be eager to get stuck into that leading up to the next event."
The Rolex SailGP Championship moves to France next month for the Rockwool France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez, the event on 12-13 September is the first part of a European double-header in September alongside the first ever Rolex Switzerland Sail Grand Prix | Geneva on 20-21 September.