Flying Roos claim early edge on Valencia debut
by Bree Purvis 5 Sep 10:37 PDT
5-6 September 2026
BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team driven by Tom Slingsby leads Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team on Race Day 1 of the Spain Sail Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain © Felix Diemer for SailGP
The BONDS Flying Roos mastered tricky conditions to claim top spot after a challenging opening day in Valencia, as the race for a place in the Abu Dhabi SailGP Grand Final heats up.
Tom Slingsby's crew delivered a strong second-place finish before securing a dominant win in their second race at the Spain Sail Grand Prix. Their 2-1-4 scorecard put the Australians on top of Group A with 11 points, just one point clear of Red Bull Italy heading into the final day of racing.
The Australians arrived in Valencia as Rolex SailGP Championship leaders following their fifth event victory of the season in Sassnitz a fortnight ago, sitting on 76 points and holding a 14-point advantage over home team Los Gallos on 62 points.
The Spaniards lead Group B following day one on 14 points, two points clear of ROCKWOOL Racing in second on 12 points. With a short racecourse and a tightly packed start box close to shore, strong starts proved crucial for all 13 teams in the light conditions.
Tom Slingsby, BONDS Flying Roos Driver, said: "We're really happy. To have a 2-1-4 in those conditions, we've got to be happy.
"Even in the race where we were back a bit, we were looking around us and it was Artemis and New Zealand. It's hard to get past these guys. They're just so good and even the teams that don't usually do well in those light conditions are very hard to pass. Good starts were everything today."
The unpredictable foiling conditions added another layer of difficulty, with crews forced to react to constantly changing wind pressure while battling the Spanish heat.
Tash Bryant, BONDS Flying Roos Strategist, said: "It's quite stressful in these conditions. Although everything happens quite slowly compared to normal, it's really hard to predict what's happening next and figure out what the boats around you are doing.
"I think our team handled it well. The last race was really tricky today but we stayed on the hammer of the boats in front of us, waiting for one of them to have a little slip-up. We were lucky enough to pick up one place before we crossed the finish line in race three."
It was an action-packed start to SailGP's Valencia debut for the Australians, with BONDS Flying Roos co-owners Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds going head-to-head in a high-speed 'sixth sailor' showdown ahead of racing.
The Deadpool and Wolverine rivals took their rivalry to the fastest race on water as 6th sailors, with Reynolds ultimately claiming bragging rights after a neck-and-neck battle came down to a penalty.
The Aussies will continue to fight for a place in the Spain Sail Grand Prix Final tomorrow as each group completes two further fleet races before the top two teams from each group advance to the winner-takes-all Final.
Racing begins at 9:30 PM AEST / 7:30 PM AWST on Sunday, 6 September, live on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.