"It's all about getting into that Grand Final" - Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher after Race Day 1
by Emirates GBR SailGP Team 29 Nov 07:58 PST
29-30 November 2025
Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team alongside Red Bull Italy SailGP Team and Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team on Race Day 1 of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix Season Grand Final presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council © Felix Diemer for SailGP
Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher said the opening day of the Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix was not the team's "finest performance", but added the crew was "still focused on the main job of getting into that Grand Final".
The Brits ended the first day of racing in 10th position, after placing 9th, 11th, 9th and 4th in the four fleet races on Saturday.
In order to make the $2m, three-boat, winner-takes-all Grand Final race, Emirates GBR needs to be top three on the overall season leaderboard, and even with a current 10th position on the Abu Dhabi event leaderboard, the team would still be top of the table for the overall season. The blow of a 10th place finish on Race Day 1 was softened for Emirates GBR as the three other teams at the top of the season leaderboard, Spain, New Zealand and Australia, also had less than stellar performances in the light conditions. Spain ended day one in 12th, while Australia are in 11th and New Zealand 8th.
Fletcher said: "It wasn't our finest day of the season, but the team are in good spirits and we are still focused on the main job of getting into that Grand Final. I guess there's a bit more luck involved in light winds and we saw the top four teams not quite putting enough risk into it because they don't want to have any accidents or anything that could affect the season points, and the teams who took a bit more risk were having the best starts."
It was a tough day for all teams, with extremely light conditions meaning crew size was reduced from six people on-board to just three. This meant that Fletcher was racing the F50 alongside Flight Controller Luke Parkinson and Wing Trimmer Iain Jensen, while Strategist Hannah Mills and Grinders Nick Hutton and Neil Hunter had to watch from the support boat.
"It definitely changes things when you go to three people on-board, but I think it's harder for those not sailing, knowing they can't do anything to help." Fletcher said.
While the light conditions meant there wasn't much to be cheering about, Emirates GBR did get to celebrate winning SailGP's Impact League, as the team was presented with the winners trophy on stage by Zara Tindall. The British team was crowned champions for the second year running of the league that tracks and rewards teams for their social and environmental projects. Zara presented the trophy to Emirates GBR CEO Sir Ben Ainslie, who said he was "so proud" of the team for the win.
Emirates GBR also had a star-studded support crew in Abu Dhabi, with Mark Wright and Olly Murs presenting their Heart Radio Saturday Breakfast show live from the grandstands during racing. Mark also joined the Emirates GBR Shore Team to help prepare the F50 race boat and make sure it was in prime condition for racing. After presenting their radio show, Olly took to the stage and put on an apres-sail performance for the crowds in the grandstand.
The final event of the season resumes tomorrow with two more fleet races scheduled, after which an event winner will be crowned and season points tallied, before the top three teams then progress to the winner-takes-all, $2m Grand Final. UK viewers can watch the racing live on TNT Sports 2 from 10:00 GMT.