Australian team at ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix Auckland - Day 1
by Bree Purvis 14 Feb 09:08 UTC
Black Foils SailGP Team helmed by Peter Burling and DS Automobiles SailGP Team France helmed by Quentin Delapierre collide during Race 3, on Race Day 1 of the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Auckland, New Zealand © Simon Bruty for SailGP
Racing was cut short on the opening day of the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland following a major collision between the home team Black Foils and France.
The crash occurred on the first leg of the third fleet race, when New Zealand collided with France. Two athletes were taken to hospital, where they remain in a stable condition. All other crew members have been assessed and cleared of injury. Due to the extensive damage, both teams will be retired from this weekend's racing.
SailGP's Race Management concluded that New Zealand breached rule 14 in an initial hearing on the incident and have imposed an eight-point penalty on New Zealand for breaking rule 14. There will be no penalty imposed on France.
BONDS Flying Roos Driver and CEO Tom Slingsby said the immediate priority following the incident was the safety of all athletes on the water.
"It's really hard to see a crash like that happen. As soon as I saw it, it's tough to keep sailing because you're just hoping everyone's okay. We got through safely ourselves and when they pulled the boats off the water, everyone was trying to check that all the crews were accounted for. When we heard they were safe, it was good news but it's hard to really focus on results when there's chaos going on like that."
Thirteen national teams hit the startline for the first time in SailGP history going head-to-head on one of the closest racetracks on the 2026 Season calendar. Gusts of up to 35 km/h made for fast, unpredictable racing with teams equipped for top speeds with the 18-metre wingsail, high-speed titanium T-Foils and rudders.
Prior to the abandonment of racing during the third fleet race, the Australians had made a commanding start on Waitemata Harbour, recording race finishes of 1st and 4th, to sit in second overall on the provisional event leaderboard.
Slingsby added, "It was a very tricky race course. That wind direction is the one here that doesn't leave much space so we knew it was going to be tight. Coming into the first mark, you're getting hit by a lot of bullets of wind and then it goes light, and it's hard to read the breeze across the track. It was fun racing when everything was going well, but then you're just trying to stay out of trouble and get the best result you can."
The strong opening performance by the BONDS Flying Roos continues the team's momentum following a confident start to the 2026 Rolex SailGP Championship season, as they closed the day in 2nd place, on equal 17 points with France.
Decorated Australian sailor Glenn Ashby returned to the team line-up as substitute Wing Trimmer following his standout performance in Perth, continuing to fill in as Iain Jensen progresses through his knee recovery.
With a spot in the winner-takes-all Podium Final at stake, Slingsby's crew remains laser-focused on executing their race plan heading into Super Sunday. Racing resumes tomorrow, 15 February, with three fleet races before the top teams face off in a three-boat battle to decide the Auckland event champion.
Australian fans can catch all the action live on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports from 9:30am AEDT.