SailGP Technologies confident of Black Foils return in race to complete biggest ever repair
by Will Carson - SailGP Media 27 Jan 18:20 PST
The Grandstand is erected in Auckland ahead of the ITM SailGP Grand Prix - January 28, 2026 © Richard Gladwell - Sail-World.com/nz
SailGP's expert boatbuilding team is confident the Black Foils will be back on the start line for their home event in Auckland next month, despite their F50 undergoing what has been described as the league's most substantial ever in-season repair.
A specialist team from SailGP Technologies is working around the clock to rebuild the damaged Black Foils F50 after a high-speed collision with the Switzerland SailGP Team in the opening race of the 2026 Season in Perth.
The impact caused catastrophic damage to the left-side hull of the Kiwi boat, immediately ruling the team out of the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix presented by KPMG. SailGP's umpires later awarded the Black Foils seven event penalty points after deeming them to be at fault for the incident.
Initial inspections and non-destructive testing revealed the F50's critical structure remained intact, allowing SailGP Technologies to carry out a repair rather than replacing the entire platform.
However, the scale of the task remains immense. The bulkhead, a key structural partition within the hull, was badly damaged, requiring an entirely new section of hull to be manufactured at SailGP's state-of-the-art centre of innovation, design and engineering in Southampton, before being flown to New Zealand.
The repair job is said to be as big as the repair carried out last season when Mubadala Brazil's F50 broke under extreme load ahead of the Germany Sail Grand Prix | Sassnitz but with far less time.
"This repair is about as big as it gets in this timeframe - think the Brazil repair on steroids", said Joel Marginson, Director of SailGP Technologies.
"Following detailed inspections and non-destructive testing, SailGP can confirm that the critical structure of the New Zealand SailGP Team's F50 platform remains intact - allowing SailGP Technologies to proceed with a full repair rather than a replacement.
"The damage extends to the bulkhead, however, making this one of the most substantial in-season composite repairs ever undertaken by the league."
Multiple specialist teams are now manufacturing new hull, deck, stern and steering components, with the rebuilt section set to be flown to Auckland where it will be bonded into the existing platform.
Despite the condensed timeline and technical complexity, Marginson said confidence remains high that the Black Foils will be ready to race on home waters.
"The process requires extremely precise alignment and extensive structural laminating, followed by full reassembly, systems integration and calibration in a highly-condensed timeline," Marginson added.
"SailGP Technologies is powered by world-class composite technicians and boatbuilders who are relentlessly focused on getting as many boats as possible on the start line. They thrive on the extreme challenge of the job and live and breathe the pursuit of being the very best in the world at their craft.
"While this is a major technical challenge, the team is confident that all is going to plan, and the Black Foils will be back on the startline at their home event in Auckland next month."
Update:
On his facebook page, Russell Coutts says the parts and damaged boat will come together in Auckland on February 4.