Emirates GBR end day one in Saint-Tropez with a race win and top spot on the leaderboard
by Emirates GBR SailGP Team 13 Sep 02:44 AEST
12-13 September 2025
Emirates GBR delivered a consistent performance in challenging conditions on Race Day 1 of the ROCKWOOL France Sail Grand Prix in Saint-Tropez © Felix Diemer for SailGP
The Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team has ended day one of the ROCKWOOL France Sail Grand Prix in Saint-Tropez with a race win and the top spot on the event leaderboard. The British team came away with a scorecard of 2-4-6-1 from the four fleet races.
The crew's consistent results in ever-changing conditions means Emirates GBR is currently first overall, with three more fleet races taking place on Saturday before the top three teams take part in the winner-takes-all event final.
Emirates GBR Strategist Hannah Mills said: "It's always good to end the day with a race win and it's amazing to be top of the table. It was epic conditions out there, the breeze was super up and down so it was a full on day of racing with lots of place changes, boats coming off the foils, high speeds - it had it all. We did an awesome job today of hanging in there when we had to and not having any clangers, as that would have been super easy to do because it was such tricky conditions."
With gusts of up to 45km/h, all 12 SailGP teams were on the smallest 18m wing and clocking speeds in excess of 90km/h. The high-speed action started before racing had even begun, with Formula 1 star Valtteri Bottas joining Denmark's ROCKWOOL Racing on-board their F50 and promptly becoming the fastest Sixth Sailor in SailGP history. The Finnish driver holds the record for the fastest speed set in an F1 race of 372.5 km/h - and clocked more than 93 km/h during his Sixth Sailor experience on the water.
The first race of the day got under way with a solid start for Emirates GBR, as they crossed the line in second behind Mubadala Brazil. The Brits managed to chase down Martine Grael's team, but as Australia's BONDS Flying Roos opted for the other side of the course, they managed to secure the lead. At gate three, the Aussies forced the British to do another maneuver and split the course to avoid their dirty air slowing them down. On leg four, Emirates GBR Coach Rob Wilson told the crew via a live link from the coaches booth that the crew should take a right turn, which they took note of and actioned. Tom Slingsby and his Australian crew also opted for the same gate, and although Emirates GBR were able to close the gap they weren't able to overtake, crossing the finish line in second.
The start of race two was delayed as the USA SailGP Team faced a technical issue, which they were unable to resolve in time - rendering them out of action. Emirates GBR got across the line well but the NorthStar Canada SailGP Team flew across the line and steamed ahead of the fleet. The Brits managed to navigate the shifty breeze well to stay at the top of the fleet, but a boundary penalty in leg four cost them and they ended up finishing in fourth.
Emirates GBR managed to recover well from a difficult start in the third race of the day, climbing from 8th to 3rd. It was a race full of changes and in the penultimate leg, Emirates GBR fell of their foils and dropped back to 9th. The Brits powered through and managed to make gains on the course to end the race with a 6th place finish, while the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team secured its first ever race win.
In the fourth and final race, Australia suffered an early start penalty by the closest of margins and had to get behind the entire fleet. Germany was leading the way round the course, while Emirates GBR managed to climb from fourth to second in leg three. Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher then decided to roll the dice at the third gate and take the opposite side of the course to the Germans, this paid off and meant the Brits later secured the lead, which they managed to maintain for the three remaining legs and seal the deal on the race win.
Fletcher said: "It was an absolutely incredible day here in Saint-Tropez and we managed to deliver some consistent results which paid off to put us top overall on points. There were some difficult shifts out there so I'm really happy we got through the day unscathed and heading into Saturday in a strong position. It looks like there's going to be a little less wind for Race Day 2, so we'll be zoning in on that tonight and hoping to continue this performance tomorrow."
The ROCKWOOL France Sail Grand Prix resumes tomorrow from 11:30 BST, with all the action live on TNT Sports.