Sydney Harbour delivered a tactical light air contest on Sunday as Emirates Great Britain claimed victory in Race 5 of the 2026 SailGP Sydney event, reshaping the leaderboard heading into the final two fleet races.
After four races on Saturday, Spain’s Los Gallos, helmed by Diego Botín, led the regatta on 32 points. Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos sat second on 28, with Artemis with Nathan Outteridge third on 26. Red Bull Italy and Emirates GBR were locked together on 23 points, followed closely by the United States on 22.
With the 27.5 metre wing and T foils selected for light conditions, Sunday’s opening race unfolded in single digit breeze. Speed—well, it didn’t happen. Instead, teams had to focus on keeping the F50s moving, which they only were able to do off their foils.
A tight start saw early penalties shape the race. Australia were penalised near the line, while Germany also fell foul of the umpires. Switzerland led around the first mark, but the fleet remained tightly grouped.
Spain led off at the beginning. As the breeze edged right, Emirates Great Britain showed patience and control. Dylan Fletcher’s crew avoided unnecessary manoeuvres. Spain went too wide and lost their winning position. But they continued to track GBR closely but could not pick up enough speed to grab the first place again. The United States climbed into third through steady positioning.
Penalties proved costly for several teams, including Switzerland and Denmark, and in such marginal conditions lost distance was difficult to recover.
At the finish, Emirates GBR secured the win and 10 points. Spain placed second with 9 points, and the United States third with 8. Red Bull Italy finished fourth, followed by Mubadala Brazil in fifth and Australia in sixth. ROCKWOOL Denmark, Artemis, Germany, Switzerland and NorthStar completed the order. The Black Foils and France again failed to score.
The result tighten the standings and intensifies the battle for the three places in the event final. With two fleet races remaining before the winner takes all showdown, the margins are narrow and the pressure is rising on Sydney Harbour.
2026 SailGP Sydney Race 5 results
| POS | TEAM | DRIVER | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emirates GBR | Dylan Fletcher | 10 |
| 2 | Los Gallos | Diego Botín | 9 |
| 3 | U.S. SailGP Team | Taylor Canfield | 8 |
| 4 | Red Bull Italy | Phil Robertson | 7 |
| 5 | Mubadala Brazil | Martine Grael | 6 |
| 6 | BONDS Flying Roos | Tom Slingsby | 5 |
| 7 | ROCKWOOL Racing | Nicolai Sehested | 4 |
| 8 | Artemis | Nathan Outteridge | 3 |
| 9 | Germany | Erik Heil | 2 |
| 10 | Switzerland | Sébastien Schneiter | 1 |
| 11 | NorthStar | Giles Scott | 0 |
| 12 | Black Foils | Peter Burling | 0 |
| 12 | DS Team France | Quentin Delapierre | 0 |
Event points after Race 5
| POS | TEAM | DRIVER | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Gallos | Diego Botín | 41 |
| 2 | Emirates GBR | Dylan Fletcher | 33 |
| 3 | BONDS Flying Roos | Tom Slingsby | 33 |
| 4 | U.S. SailGP Team | Taylor Canfield | 30 |
| 5 | Artemis | Nathan Outteridge | 29 |
| 6 | Red Bull Italy | Phil Robertson | 30 |
| 7 | Mubadala Brazil | Martine Grael | 20 |
| 8 | Germany | Erik Heil | 18 |
| 9 | Switzerland | Sébastien Schneiter | 17 |
| 10 | ROCKWOOL Racing | Nicolai Sehested | 18 |
| 11 | NorthStar | Giles Scott | 6 |
| 12 | Black Foils | Peter Burling | 0 |
| 13 | DS Team France | Quentin Delapierre | 0 |
