In a stunning weekend comeback, the France SailGP Team claimed their first event win of the 2025 Season, bouncing back from near-disaster in practice to beat Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos and Emirates GBR in an action-packed winner-takes-all Final.
In a victory driver Quentin Delapierre called, “super special” Les Bleus move into fifth on the Rolex SailGP Championship standings, while Emirates GBR jockeys into third ahead of Spain, now fourth. Australia and New Zealand sit first and second, respectively, tied on points with 61 each.
Celebrating the win, Delapierre, who began the weekend in hospital after the team’s rudder broke in practice, said: “We knew we had to deliver our best performance this weekend – with focus on tactics, strategy and, yeah, a bit of luck.”
It was not the first high-stakes incident for the French crew, which also missed out on last month’s Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix when the team’s wing sail snapped just moments before racing.
“This win was super special – for the CEOs, our management, partners and the athletes of course,” Delapierre added. “As I said at the press conference, it’s been a while since we won an event at SailGP. It’s always a special feeling.”
France, which last topped the event podium in Season 3, is now the sixth team to win an event this season.
Competing in their first event Final since March (Los Angeles), Australian driver Tom Slingsby had a strong weekend, finishing top three in all but one race. Slingsby said: “Since the wing collapsed in San Francisco, we feel like we haven’t been able to get back in there, so this weekend, we’re really glad with how we sailed.”
Emirates GBR also showed grit and resilience, dominating with back-to-back wins in fleet races 5 and 6 less than 24 hours after a shocking collision with the US SailGP team appeared to put the team’s weekend in the balance.
The Americans, at fault for the port-starboard collision which occurred while they were attempting to duck behind the British F50, did not sail the weekend’s remaining races. Video from the race shows crewmember Andrew Campbell advising skipper Taylor Canfield through he maneuver, the duck was not enough. The US boat’s port bow was sheared off as it collided with the British team’s rudder and port stern section.
“After an encouraging start to the Germany Sail Grand Prix, the U.S. SailGP Team was involved in contact with Emirates Great Britain in Race 4,” said a team statement issued after racing, “resulting in race-ending damage for both boats. We understand this is the nature of our sport and are relieved no one was injured.”
SailGP’s technical shore team repaired the British boat overnight, scarfing a section from the US team’s boat and returning them to the racecourse in time for the final day of racing.
Thanking on-shore teams for the overnight repair, British driver Dylan Fletcher said: “You wouldn’t believe it – an absolutely unbelievable effort to ensure our team could race today, so this really goes out to them.”
The conditions on Championship Sunday marked a notable change from the fast and furious racing on day one in Sassnitz. Light, shifty breeze called for tactical racing, in which teams unafraid to take risks were rewarded with strategic gains across the course. Those left in the back found themselves struggling in disturbed air.
Despite missing out on his first home final, driver Erik Kosegarten-Heil said he was pleased with the Germany SailGP, presented by Deutsche Bank, team’s weekend results – a fifth overall. “For sure the event gives us some confidence,” he said. “We worked really hard on many things here, between events and, really, all year. It’s nice to see some things turn around slowly and I’m really looking forward to the next couple of events.”
The US SailGP did not pocket any points for the regatta, nor did Mubadala Brazil, which suffered catastrophic structural damage to their boat on the practice day as a result of a high-speed nose-dive.
—Report provided by SailGP Media
