Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos Win SailGP Rio de Janeiro
- Australia's Bonds Flying Roos claimed a dominant victory at the Rio Sail Grand Prix on April 12, 2026, ascending to the top of the SailGP championship standings.
- The performance included victories in the three qualifying races and the final.
- The competition took place on the race course of Guanabara Bay, which was characterized by bumpy, gusty, and shifty conditions.
Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos claimed a dominant victory at the Rio Sail Grand Prix on April 12, 2026, ascending to the top of the SailGP championship standings. Driven by Tom Slingsby, the team won all four races held on the final day of the event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The performance included victories in the three qualifying races and the final. This achievement is described as unprecedented in the six seasons of SailGP League racing, marking the first time a team has won four races in a single day within a 12-boat fleet.
Race Performance in Guanabara Bay
The competition took place on the race course of Guanabara Bay, which was characterized by bumpy, gusty, and shifty conditions. Despite the variable environment, the Australian team maintained a perfect record for the day.
During the three-boat final, Sweden briefly held the lead. However, the Swedish team, led by Nathan Outteridge, failed to keep their vessel fully on the hydrofoils while passing through a soft patch of breeze. Tom Slingsby utilized this moment to squeeze past and secure the victory.
Spain finished the event in second place after Diego Botin closed the gap on the slowing Swedish boat, which resulted in a penalty against Outteridge. Sweden finished the Rio event in third place.
Impact on Championship Standings
The sweep in Rio de Janeiro has propelled the Bonds Flying Roos to the lead of the SailGP standings. This result follows the fourth event of the 2026 season.
The Australian team, which has previously won the SailGP championship three times, leveraged the weekend in Brazil to establish a significant lead in the overall competition.
Reaction from Tom Slingsby
Following the event, skipper Tom Slingsby expressed surprise at the team’s perfect performance given the challenging nature of the day. He noted that while the team had won three races in a single day during the first season, doing so in a larger fleet under such conditions was unexpected.
Tom Slingsby, quoted by The Athletic
Winning four races in a day, I don’t think it’s been done before. We’ve won three races in a day back in season one when there was only six boats or something like that. But to do it in a 12-boat fleet on such a challenging day, if you asked me today, ‘Were you going to get four firsts?’ I would say not a chance, I think we would have taken four fifth places today.