SailGP: Emirates GBR clinch dramatic win against Kiwi rivals 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.

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.

To secure their spot in the DP World Spain Sail Grand Prix final race in Cadiz on Sunday, Emirates GBR placed 5th, 4th and 7th in the three full fleet races. On Saturday, the crew finished 1st, 5th, 5th and 2nd in the four fleet races.

The crew on-board the Emirates GBR F50 on Sunday was reduced from the usual six to five, with Dylan Fletcher as Driver, Hannah Mills as Strategist, Iain Jensen as Wing Trimmer, Luke Parkinson as Flight Controller and Nick Hutton as Grinder. The crew was then reduced further for the final race, with Nick Hutton having to sit the final out due to lighter wind and Mills having to take on the Grinder role yet again. The physically demanding role provides the power to manoeuvre the F50’s wing and is usually carried out by duo Hutton and Neil Hunter.

The victory means Emirates GBR become the first team to win three Grands Prix this season – and crucially puts them three points ahead of the Black Foils on the 2025 Season leaderboard. Three-time SailGP champions the BONDS Flying Roos slipped to third overall, five points behind the Brits, after coming home an uncharacteristic seventh in Cadiz.

SailGP returns next month for the 2025 Season Grand Final, the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix on 29-30 November. Teams will be battling it out across two race days to make it into the three-boat winner-takes-all Grand Final Race and be in with a chance of winning the biggest prize pot in the sport of sailing – $2m.

Text and images courtesy of SailGP.com. Read more here.