06/11/2026
by Emma Harrison
Fans of SailGP witnessed a stunning day’s racing at the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix presented by KPMG, which had a bit of everything.
But when all was said and done, the big stories of the day were the lightning-fast start by the Swedish Artemis SailGP Team as the newest team in the competition, equally impressive results from the United States SailGP Team, while last year’s top three struggled to get going in Perth.
BONDS Flying Roos Get off to a Flyer
The BONDS Flying Roos wing trimmer Iain Jensen was ruled out of racing on Saturday due to a leg injury sustained during training, replaced at the last minute by Glenn Ashby.
But Jensen’s absence certainly wasn’t to prove costly to begin with, quite the contrary.
Tom Slingsy led his crew to Fleet Race 1 victory in windy conditions, delighting the team’s adoring fans.
Then again, that shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise: the Aussies were the 5.26 joint-favorites to take the event’s opening race, the same price as the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team.
As for the Brits, they finished fifth, with the DS Automobiles SailGP Team France and the Americans completing the podium.
But that was only half the story, with both the Black Foils SailGP Team and the Switzerland SailGP Team not completing Fleet Race 1 and calling it a day after the two collided on leg two.
The Black Foils’ F50 was in a bad state while the Swiss retired from the rest of the day’s racing, too.
“Everyone’s ok and that’s the main thing,” Swiss driver Seb Schneiter said. “The two boats suffered big damage and that’s us out for the day. It’s quite frustrating but glad no-one was hurt.”
The latest news from the SailGP Tech Team is that they should be able to repair the Swiss’s boat in time for Sunday’s racing, but not the one belonging to the Black Foils.
All eyes were on the Artemis SailGP Team after impressing in practice yesterday, but they didn’t get off to the best of starts in Race 1, finishing ninth
But it didn’t take long for them to make their mark. They picked up an excellent runner-up spot in Race 2, claiming nine points in the process, with only Les Bleus too good for them.
Emirates GBR were third, but the BONDS Flying Roos weren’t capable of replicating their earlier efforts, finishing just eighth.
DS Team France’s driver Quentin Delapierre was clearly the coolest and calmest of anyone out there on the water after taking the lead, telling his crew as they closed in on victory:
“We are in the lead – make it smooth, don’t rush”
And Delapierre was pretty happy with what he was seeing out there:
“The conditions are perfect here in Perth.”
Artemis Takes Their First-Ever SailGP Win
DS Team France should really have won the next race too, taking a considerable lead before not seeing Tom Slingsby’s catamaran coming towards them, having to duck, and falling off the foils in the process.
A bad break for the French, but Artemis, the chief beneficiary of Les Bleu’s misfortune, won’t be complaining as they secured their first win as a SailGP Team.
Les Bleus held on to second place, the Americans secured third, but Emirates GBR and the BONDS Flying Roos could only manage sixth and ninth, respectively.
And Then Do it all Over Again…
And SailGP’s newest addition certainly wasn’t done for the day.
They fought back from an excellent start by the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team to win Saturday’s last race of the day as well, setting a real marker here that they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with.
There was some late magic from Slingsby, recovering from a slow start to secure a runner-up spot, with the Americans, led by Taylor Canfield, finishing third.
Three podium finishes from four is the epitome of consistency, and the US SailGP Team had an excellent day out there in Perth.
Elsewhere, Artemis’ driver Nathan Outteridge reflected on his team and the opening day’s racing:
“We’ve done a lot of work over the last couple of months and we’ve got a great team. The level is way higher than I remember – the racing was super tight. We’re very happy with the group of people we’ve put together, and very happy to have a strong first day.”
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