Emirates GBR clinch dramatic win against Kiwi rivals at the DP World Spain Sail Grand Prix

 

The Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team has claimed its third victory of the season at the DP World Spain Sail Grand Prix. The crew, driven by Olympic gold medallist Dylan Fletcher, sealed the deal in dramatic fashion as they dived inside race leaders, New Zealand's Black Foils, at the final mark to steal the win from the Kiwis at the last moment.

It was a defiant final race for Emirates GBR, as they suffered a boundary penalty in the start box which meant they had to start behind their opponents, New Zealand and Germany. It seemed to only fire the Brits on as they stayed focused on the task at hand, sailing their own race and taking the lead on the third leg. The crew then suffered a touch down off the foils at the third gate which meant the Kiwis then took back the lead. In leg five, the Brits and the Kiwis split the course with Emirates GBR at first having the advantage, before New Zealand then made gains on the course. This was until the last mark, when Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher saw his now or never moment, and made the decision to dive inside Pete Burling's crew and overtake them at the final mark and take the win.

Fletcher said: "It's been an unbelievable weekend for the team. The penalty at the start wasn't ideal but we kept pushing and it was a great battle with the Black Foils who had an amazing day. We're so happy to come out on top, ultimately it was all or nothing and when it came to that last turning mark we just gave it everything and it came off alright."

Emirates GBR now sits top of the 2025 Season leaderboard heading into the last event, the Abu Dhabi Grand Final on 29-30 November. The top three teams from across the season will go into the winner-takes-all final in Abu Dhabi, where $2m is up for grabs.

Speaking on the final, Fletcher said: "It certainly doesn't feel like the jobs done at all regarding the Grand Final. We can't ever rest on our laurels here in SailGP so we're going to push as hard as we always do to give ourselves the best chance of getting into that Grand Final race."