Opening day of the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland was cut short after two fleet races, due to a catastrophic collision between home-team Black Foils and DS Team France. Two athletes have been taken to hospital in stable condition, to be treated for their injuries. All other crew members have been cleared of injuries.
The crash occurred at the beginning of fleet race three, when the Kiwis appeared to lose control of their F50 catamaran at high speed, veering sharply in front of the French. The Black Foils F50 platform collapsed in the incident, as France’s F50 collided on top of the Kiwis’ hull.
DS Team France driver Quentin Delapierre said: “I think both teams are quite okay. I want to give my thoughts to the New Zealand team and also to my teammates – this was tough for everyone on both teams.”
Delapierre continued, “On the incident itself, I can’t really say anything. Everything happened so quickly – it’s still super cloudy in my head and I haven’t reviewed the footage or spoken to the umpires.”
Thirteen international teams hit the startline for the first time in SailGP history – going head to head on one of the closest racetracks of the 2026 Season calendar in gusts up to 35 km/h. Teams were equipped for top speeds with the 18-meter wingsail, high-speed titanium T-Foils and rudders.
The Bonds Flying Roos picked up where they left off last season in Auckland, racing to victory in the opening fleet race of the day. It was a strong start for Peter Burling’s Black Foils, who clocked two podium scores before their untimely crash – finishing third in fleet race one and winning the second, much to the delight of cheering home fans.
BONDS Flying Roos driver Tom Slingsby said, “It was a very tricky race course. That wind direction is the one here that doesn’t leave much space, so we knew it was going to be tight. Coming into the first mark, you’re getting hit by a lot of bullets of wind and then it goes light, and it’s hard to read the breeze across the track. It was fun racing when everything was going well, but then you’re just trying to stay out of trouble and get the best result you can.”
Teams battled unpredictable shifts across the course, with SailGP’s largest-ever purpose-built Race Stadium disrupting the breeze and creating tricky foiling conditions at the bottom of the track.
Defending Rolex SailGP Champions Emirates GBR had a mixed day – struggling at the back of the fleet to finish 11th in race one, but turning around their performance to take second in race two. Emirates GBR driver Dylan Fletcher said, “It was very difficult conditions, but to be honest, it was a lot of fun until the incident. We had a terrible first race, didn’t sail very well. We finally got our act together, and felt like we were coming good. It was shifty, wacky conditions, like Mario Kart out there.”
A number of teams struggled with technical issues, including Northstar SailGP. Driver Giles Scott said, “We broke one of the wing controllers on the port side, so we were a bit compromised by that at the end of the first race. Things basically spiraled from there in that second race for us. It gave us a pretty bad run into the start, put us out the back, then just out the back door.”
After two fleet races, France top the event leaderboard – tied with Australia on 17 points each. Spain sit third with 12 points. The most exciting racing on water returns tomorrow – Championship Sunday February 15, beginning at 11.30 a.m. NZT. Investigation into the incident between New Zealand and France is ongoing, with salvage to both team’s F50 catamarans ongoing, with both teams ruled out of tomorrow’s competition.
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Sport Trivia: Who was the first black player to represent South Africa in rugby? Answer: Errol Tobias made his debut for South Africa on 30th May 1981, against Ireland at Newlands. South Africa won the match 23-15. He went on to win six caps between 1981 and 1984.
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The African Leopards are a pan-African representative team that aims to promote rugby throughout the continent.