Emirates GBR missed out on the Apex Bermuda Sail Grand Prix final by one place after a challenging second day of racing in difficult and unstable conditions on the Bermuda Sound.
The fourth-place event finish means Emirates GBR retain second place in the 2026 SailGP Championship standings, with Australia’s Bond Flying Roos extending their lead at the top after claiming back-to-back SailGP event victories in Bermuda, ahead of Spain’s Los Gallos and the Germany SailGP Team in the event final.
Emirates GBR Driver Dylan Fletcher, reflected on the weekend: “We left a lot on the table and certainly didn’t sail to our best ability, but on reflection, even though it’s not the result we wanted, fourth is a good damage-limitation finish. We’re not where we want to be yet, but it’s an improvement from Rio.
“It’s a long season and we’ll analyse the data closely, look at the video and onboard comms, and review what the teams ahead of us are doing better so we can understand where we need to improve. We need to constantly adapt and improve, that’s the game in SailGP.”
The British team continued to commit to their aggressive start strategy throughout the day, showing flashes of strong pace, particularly in Race 7 where they produced their best start of the event. GBR recorded finishes of fifth, eighth and fifth across the final three fleet races. However, costly manoeuvre errors, unstable breeze and a lack of clean air around the racecourse prevented the team from converting strong starts into podium finishes.
Emirates GBR Strategist Hannah Mills, commented on the final day of racing: “The conditions were tough, particularly if you weren’t around the first mark in clear air. If you were stuck in the pack, it was a difficult day for manoeuvres and staying on the foils in dirty air. It was important to come away with a solid overall points result for the season, and finishing fourth delivered that. It feels like we’re moving in the right direction after the performance in Rio. There’s still plenty of improvement out there for us, but we’re moving in the right direction.
“New York is just around the corner and could bring similar conditions to what we had here today, so there are lots of learnings for us to take away and areas where we can improve.”
Emirates GBR will look to continue their improvement at the New York Sail Grand Prix (30–31 May 2026), which takes place in three weeks’ time.
