ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix recap: Slingsby strikes back in Sassnitz
The Bonds Flying Roos won their fifth event of the season, Los Gallos SailGP Team carried on being the model of consistency and Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team’s struggles continue, as we look back at what happened at the ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix, its effect on the Championship standings and the latest betting odds.
Fifth win of the season for the Bonds Flying Roos SailGP Team
They say it’s hard to keep a good man down, and in the world of the Rolex SailGP Championship, saying the Bonds Flying Roos SailGP Team’s driver Tom Slingsby is a good man is putting it mildly.
After a couple of quiet events by his team’s sky-high standards – fourth at the Canada Sail Grand Prix and seventh at the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix – Slingsby and his team were back in the winner’s enclosure, securing their fifth event win of the season here at the ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix and, in the process, taking part in their seventh Final across the season’s opening nine events.
And going into Race 5 over in Group B, it was a Final they were by no means guaranteed to be in. Four teams were separated by just one point at the start of that race, and it was still anyone’s game almost until the finishing line, with the NorthStar SailGP Team not only taking the race win but also topping the group on 17 points.
The Bonds Flying Roos finished second, just one point ahead of the Artemis SailGP Team, but not for the first time this season, Slingsby made the most of his chances in a final he might have missed out on entirely to secure yet another win.
Bookies on the money
Predicting the outcomes of SailGP events is easier said than done because of the sport’s unpredictable nature, ever-changing conditions, the possibility of penalties coming into play, and the element of sheer luck, among many other factors.
So fair play to the bookies who, pre-event, had made the Bonds Flying Roos the 6.25 favorites, the Black Foils SailGP Team the second-favorites at 7.5, while Northstar and the Los Gallos SailGP Team were the next shortest at 8.33. In other words, the four that were the shortest in the betting were the four that ended up disputing the Final.
As pointed out in our pre-event preview, the change in format from fleet racing to group racing has convinced the bookies that things will become more unpredictable for the remainder of the season, and so the odds on the usual favorites are considerably bigger than they were earlier in the season.
Proof of that is the price the Aussies went off at: 6.25 was the biggest they’ve been all season.
Flying Roos and Los Gallos already looking good for a place in the Grand Final
The result of the Aussies’ win is that they’ve further extended their lead at the top of the Championship standings and are now 2.29 to win the Championship.
They’re on 76 points with Los Gallos (2.73 to win the 2026 Season) now on 62 after a strong run that saw them secure back-to-back wins in Halifax and Canada, followed by another valuable eight points here in Sassnitz after a third-place finish.
The smart money is on those two being in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix 2026 Season Grand Final, Presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, in late November. But who’s most likely to join them?
At the moment that’s Artemis, third on 53 points and quietly going about their business of picking up priceless points from almost all events. They’re 4.58 to win the Championship in their debut season.
Two runner-up spots and a fifth-place finish here in Germany from their last three events mean they’re yet to get their first winner’s trophy in the cabinet, but it’s exactly the sort of consistent performances that see their name cemented in the top three and that makes life difficult for their closest pursuers.
Fletcher aware of the task ahead of him
That of course includes Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team, who have now gone three events in a row without making a Final and had to settle for ninth place and a modest return of just two points from their trip here to Sassnitz.
Dylan Fletcher – whose team are tied in fourth overall on 46 points with the U.S. SailGP Team – has seven points to make up on the Swedes and has three more events to claw his way back into that top three. But the bookies are beginning to rule out a successful defence of their title and, having been around the 3.5 to 5.0 mark for much of the season, they’re now 14.33.
If you think Fletcher can still turn things around, now is the time to side with them at those huge odds, but better than anyone, Fletcher knows he’s got his work cut out for him to even make that Grand Final, let alone win it.
Starting points for our US readers
Starting points for our UK readers
Starting points for our Global readers
