GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, Friday 18 September 2026. New Zealand’s Black Foils head into the Rolex Switzerland Sail Grand Prix this weekend looking to apply the lessons from Valencia as the championship’s European leg concludes in Geneva.
Light, shifty winds in Friday’s practice racing gave the Black Foils an early taste of the conditions expected over the weekend.
“It’s awesome to be back in Geneva. It’s such a cool place to sail,” said Black Foils co-CEO and driver Peter Burling.
“We managed to get foiling in the first race, which was really nice. It really feels like we’ve managed to tidy up a few things that we were struggling with in Valencia.”
The Black Foils finished fifth in Portsmouth and reached their first event final of the season with fourth in Sassnitz, before finishing 11th in Valencia. A difficult opening day in Spain and a Sunday programme shortened by light winds limited their opportunities to recover.
With light winds also forecast for Geneva, the team is preparing to race with a reduced crew of four athletes, building on its experience with that specific crew configuration in Valencia.
“Since we’ve been back, we haven’t done a whole heap in that four-up configuration,” Burling said. “I think the fleet’s really taken a few steps forward. So we’ve been making sure we do everything we can to bridge that gap and really feel like we’re in good shape to be able to put together a good performance this weekend.”
The Black Foils race in Group B alongside championship leaders Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos, Emirates Great Britain, home team Explora Journeys Swiss, Canada’s NorthStar and Red Bull Italy. The top two from each group advance to Sunday’s four-boat final. Group A has seven boats, while the Black Foils’ Group B has six.
“That makes a massive difference in this light air, having that one less boat around,” Burling said. “It seems like the draws are pretty even this weekend. We’ve got the Aussies and a few other good teams on our side. It’ll just be about who goes out there and puts their best foot forward.”
Elsewhere in the fleet, Martine Grael makes a surprise return just days after leaving Mubadala Brazil, stepping in to drive for the U.S. SailGP Team after both its regular and reserve drivers were ruled out through injury. The two-time Olympic champion will race alongside grinder Anna Weis, making them the first two women to race together on an F50.
The Black Foils won the opening race on SailGP’s first visit to Geneva last year before finishing eighth overall. Germany by Deutsche Bank claimed their first event victory.
“Last year in Switzerland, we saw some quite different results with both Switzerland and Germany making the final,” Burling said. “I think you can expect absolutely anything to happen. We’re just making sure we’re as ready and prepared as we can be.”
Racing runs from 3.30pm to 5pm local time on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, 1.30am to 3am NZT on Sunday and Monday, live on ThreeNow.
