Emirates GBR finish day one of Sydney Sail Grand Prix in fourth after conditions play havoc - 'Too many snakes, not enough ladders'
Published 28/02/2026 at 13:25 GMT
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Emirates GBR are currently in fourth place after the opening day of racing at the KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix, where wind and heavy rain caused havoc in the harbour. The Brits need a strong performance to land themselves on the podium and continue a streak that started in October. This was the first time that Olympic gold medallist Stuart Bithell sailed as Wing Trimmer for the team.
Watch: GB celebrate after becoming SailGP champions for first time
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The opening day of racing at the KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix saw Emirates GBR take fourth place on Saturday.
The team finished 3rd, 7th, 5th and 6th in the four fleet races which saw 11 F50s battle it out in SailGP’s first ever twilight racing, where difficult conditions produced heavy rain at Sydney Harbour.
Emirates GBR sits three points behind Artemis, who are in third with 26 points. Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos are on 28 points in second and leaders Spain have 32 points.
The day one result stands the Brits in good stead for the second day of racing on Sunday, where there will be three more fleet races before the top three teams progress into the winner-takes-all, $400,000 (ÂŁ297,000) event final.
Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher said his team would "need a strong performance tomorrow to be where we want to be."
A good display will help them continue their podium streak, which has been in place since the Spain Sail Grand Prix last season in October 2025.
Light and patchy winds - unusual for Sydney at this time of year - meant teams were foiling at full speed one moment and then parked up in desperate search of breeze the next.
"We had some good moments but, unfortunately, a few too many snakes and not enough ladders, so it wasn’t really the day we were looking for," Fletcher said.
"It was really patchy and hard to know exactly what the wind was going to do. It felt like we couldn’t catch a break and we got caught in a few bad places when we were originally leading the pack and then got overtaken.
"But I’m proud of how the team kept pulling together and we’re still in the mix - so we will be giving it everything tomorrow."
Emirates GBR was straight into action in Sydney after practice racing was cancelled on Friday owing to some very British weather conditions, which saw heavy rain and thunderstorms arrive.
Once racing got underway on Saturday, Sydney provided the first light-wind conditions of the 2026 season, which meant crew size was reduced from the usual six people on-board, to five for the first and second races, then again to four for the third and fourth races.
This was also the first time that new Wing Trimmer and Olympic gold medallist Stuart Bithell sailed with Emirates GBR.
"We had a few crew changes and different configurations to deal with," Fletcher added.
"But it felt like we were doing a lot of things well, especially for the first time with Stu in those reduced configs. It’s looking like it may be similar conditions so we’re feeling positive that there’s lots to build on and hopefully it will be a better day for us tomorrow."
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