Flying Roos Lead SailGP Into the Final Stretch, With US$2 Million on the Line

Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos head into the final weeks of the Rolex SailGP Championship in a familiar position: on top of the leaderboard. Tom Slingsby’s team leads the 2026 standings on 94 points, ahead of Spain’s Los Gallos on 78 after the Geneva event, and has already secured a place in the three-boat Grand Final in Abu Dhabi.

Consistent, but not winning

Australia’s recent results have been strong without being perfect. The Flying Roos finished second in Geneva in September, behind Spain and ahead of Denmark, and second again in Valencia.

Slingsby, who is both the team’s driver and its chief executive, made clear that consistency is not enough. “You can copy and paste what I said in Valencia,” he said after Geneva, where Australia gave up a lead in the final. “I’m never happy with second, and to finish second twice in a row after giving up a lead is what’s really frustrating me.”

Asked about the title race, he said: “I don’t want any victories handed our way. I want us to win it the right way.”

What comes next

Two events remain. The Dubai Sail Grand Prix is scheduled for 21 and 22 November, followed by the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Grand Final on 28 and 29 November. The top three teams in the season standings qualify for the Grand Final, a winner-takes-all race for a US$2 million prize.

Because the Grand Final is decided by a single race, a season-long lead guarantees nothing. Australia knows the format well, having won the first three SailGP championships.

The business of SailGP

SailGP has built a commercial model that resembles motorsport more than traditional sailing: national teams, identical F50 foiling catamarans, city-based events and a strong focus on broadcast and digital audiences. Teams have increasingly been sold to private owners and investors, and the league has signed major global sponsors.

For Australia, the Flying Roos are one of the country’s most successful professional sports teams, and their sponsorship, led by BONDS, reflects the value of a winning national team with a global profile. Sydney has now hosted the league a record seven times.

Slingsby’s busy summer

Slingsby’s year will not end in Abu Dhabi. He has been named sailing master on Anthony Bell’s Tribeca LOYAL, the former Comanche, for the Rolex Sydney Hobart starting on Boxing Day. Few sailors could move from a foiling catamaran to a 100-foot ocean racer within a month; Slingsby, an Olympic gold medallist and America’s Cup winner, is one of them.

What to watch

Spain, the season’s main challenger, has shown it can beat Australia in individual events, as it did in Geneva. Expect the final regattas to be tightly contested as teams jostle for momentum before the Grand Final.

For the Flying Roos, the aim is simple. They have topped the standings for much of the season; now they need to win the race that matters most.

For the fans, the attraction is the spectacle of the boats themselves: identical foiling catamarans racing at high speed in close quarters, with the result often in doubt until the final leg. That intensity is what the league is selling to sponsors and broadcasters, and it is why every point matters now.