06/09/2026
by James Pacheco
The BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team justified their pre-event odds of 4.33 to win the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland at the weekend.
They were the second-favorites going into the event behind only the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team, and that event win means the Aussies are now tied at the top of the Rolex SailGP Championship with Emirates GBR, on 19 points.
BONDS Flying Roos Win For the First Time In a Year
“It’s huge – it’s been amazing for us to come and win here.”
So said the BONDS Flying Roos’ driver Tom Slingsby in the aftermath of the event.
“It’s been a year since we last won an event, so it’s been a long time between drinks. We sailed really well, and I’m just glad we were rewarded for it, because in those three-boat Finals anything can happen.”
The Aussies went into Sunday’s racing as the 2.88 favorites to win the event after racing was called off on Saturday with just two completed races. A nasty collision between the Black Foils and the DS Automobiles SailGP Team France resulted in an early finish, and neither team was able to take to the water on Sunday as a result of their F50s being too damaged.
Slingsby was also quick to credit the contributions of stand-in wing trimmer Glenn Ashby.
“Glenn is improving every day. It’s hard to know where his ceiling is. We wouldn’t be sitting here with a second and a first in the opening two events with anyone else in the world other than Glenn Ashby.”
All Tied At the Top
As we know already, it’s the Brits and the Aussies at the top of the Championship standings on 19 points, with the DS Automobiles SailGP Team France next on 15, followed by the Artemis SailGP Team on 13, and the United States SailGP Team on 10.
The bookies are giving slight preference to Dylan Fletcher and his crew at odds of 2.66, with Slingsby’s team rated as 2.74 chances to win this year’s Rolex SailGP Championship.
The DS Automobiles SailGP Team France are 3.9, while the Black Foils, who have had no luck at all so far this season, are out at 15.87.
Sydney Next Up
With the Auckland event done and dusted, all SailGP eyes now turn to the KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix taking place on February 28-March 1.
“Perth was amazing, but Sydney is really important to us,” Slingsby said. “If you could choose any event in the world to win, it would be Sydney for us. That’s our focus now.”
As ever with this team, the bookies are expecting a strong performance from them, especially given that they’ll be on familiar waters.
But despite that and their Auckland success, it’s still the Brits who are the favorites to win in Sydney. They’re 2.56, the Australians are 2.74, and Los Gallos SailGP Team are 2.94 in the early betting.
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