SailGP: Black Foils meet with Princess Royal ahead of chasing third successive win in UK
by James Rigby, Black Foils 25 Jul 12:58 AEST
HRH The Princess Royal speaks with Giles Scott, driver of SailGP Team, Peter Burling, co-CEO and driver of Black Foils SailGP Team, and Tash Bryant, strategist of Bonds Flying Roos, Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix, Portsmouth, July 2026 © Felix Diemer/SailGP
New Zealand's Black Foils are back in action this weekend, bidding for a third straight win at the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix.
The Black Foils have won the last two editions of the event, at Plymouth in 2022 and Portsmouth last year, and arrive as defending champions, though in challenging circumstances after a disrupted season.
A collision at the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Auckland in February destroyed their F50 and cost them four events. They returned at the Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax in June on a brand-new boat and went straight to two podium races, finishing a single point off the event final.
The enforced absence sees the Black Foils sitting 12th of 13 in the standings. But with the European leg only just beginning, Black Foils co-CEO and driver Peter Burling said the team was relishing the return to racing on the Solent.
"It's awesome to be back out on the racetrack. We've got some fond memories of Portsmouth from last year, taking a really good win here, and just down the coast was the team's first win a few years back too," Burling said. "We've had a really good track record here in the UK."
Portsmouth also brings a change to the racing. With a record 13 teams now competing, SailGP has split the fleet into two groups, a format it has now confirmed for the rest of the 2026 season.
The Black Foils have been drawn in the same group as championship leaders the Australian BONDS Flying Roos and Spanish outfit Los Gallos, along with NorthStar Canada, Red Bull Italy, ROCKWOOL Denmark and Mubadala Brazil, while the home team, Emirates Great Britain, sits in the other.
"We've ended up with the two top-ranked teams in the league on our side of the draw, so we're definitely on the hardest side. But that just creates excitement for us," Burling said. "We know we've got to go out there and perform well to get through to the final, and that's exactly what we're trying to do."
Burling said the team was still fine-tuning after four months off the water.
"It's hard to say exactly where we're at. There are still little details where we're catching up, and parts where the fleet's moved forward while we were out," Burling said. "But we're really looking forward to a nice breeze and conditions where we can show what we can do."
The venue has become one of the championship's biggest draws, with more than 20,000 fans on the waterfront last year and a similar crowd expected this weekend.
"It's always awesome to see how many Kiwis get down to the south coast to cheer us on. It means the world to us as a team," Burling said. "It's awesome racing in front of such a big grandstand."
The build-up brought a royal moment on Friday, when Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited SailGP Technologies in Southampton in her role as President of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA). During the visit she met athletes from across the international fleet, including Burling, and toured the championship's F50 and wing technology.
"It was really interesting to talk to The Princess Royal. She's really engaged in what we do and she's been to a lot of events in her time," Burling said. "It was cool to see how much she's behind this event."
Earlier this week the Black Foils were named winners of the Better Planet award in SailGP's global Impact League, recognising their part in a New Zealand campaign to end bottom trawling and the record-breaking Swim4TheOcean by Jono Ridler that drove it.
Racing at the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix runs on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July, from 4.30pm BST each day (3.30am Sunday and Monday NZT). Live coverage on Youtube.