Please select your home edition
Edition
Leaderboard brokerage

Great Britain stuns dominant Australia to be crowned Bermuda Sail Grand Prix champion

by SailGP 25 Apr 2021 20:51 BST 24-25 April 2021

Ben Ainslie's Great Britain SailGP Team was crowned winners of the opening event of SailGP Season 2. In a dramatic day that saw overtakes, crashes and a capsize, the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess was decided in a winner-takes-all final podium race that saw Ainslie come out on top from Tom Slingsby's Australia team and Billy Besson of France.

Up until that point, reigning champions Australia had been the dominant team, winning four of the five races and entered the final race as strong favorites. However, it was Ainslie that again caused the upset and put in the perfect performance when it mattered. With his team of Luke Parkinson, Iain Jensen, Matt Gotrel, Neil Hunter and Richard Mason, he sailed past the Aussies in the final podium race to win by just four seconds and, with it, the first event of the season, claiming his place at the top of the leaderboard.

Ainslie said: “It was a cracking race. It was awesome. It’s what we want to do it for; go against the top sailors in the world in conditions like this - it was perfect. It was a huge credit to the team, we really struggled yesterday, but we analyzed what went wrong and today was a much better day and I am delighted with the result, it’s a great way to start the season.

Slingsby said: “It was a great race. We feel a little hard done by, as we sailed so well all week. But those are the rules – you’ve got to win that last race, and we were close but not quite there.”

Great Britain and Australia were joined by France in the final race, with Besson’s team – with the addition of Great Britain’s Leigh McMillan onboard – securing its first ever podium finish in SailGP.

Elsewhere, there were plenty of dramatic moments with the F50’s sporting the smaller 18-meter wing for the first time in the building breeze. Newcomer to the fleet Jimmy Spithill, at the helm of the U.S. team, had a nerve-wracking collision with Nathan Outteridge’s Japan team in the first race of the day – that took both boats out for the remainder of the racing and also saw Spithill’s F50 on its side on the Great Sound shortly after the collision. There was also a triple penalty for Phil Robertson’s Spanish team after a risky maneuver at the start of race five that perhaps cost the team its place in the final podium race, missing out by just one point.

America’s Cup winners and Olympic champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke had a better day on their SailGP debut for New Zealand. Moving up from the bottom of the leaderboard after day one, to finish a respectable fifth place, just behind the Spanish team. Nicolai Sehested’s Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL took sixth place. Japan and the United States sit at the bottom of the leaderboard after the day’s drama.

SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts said: “Quite simply that was the best racing I think I have ever seen on television for a sailing event. What a day, there was drama, fantastic quality of racing, lots of lead changes – it just had everything. Unfortunately it had a crash but you are going to get that in high level racing every now and then but it was really exciting stuff.

“I think it just showed again what a fabulous venue Bermuda is to run international sailing competitions and for a SailGP event, it is absolutely perfect. We missed the crowds due to the current pandemic but everyone saw what the racing was like and what a stunning backdrop Bermuda is and that’s the main thing. I couldn’t be more thrilled with Bermuda and we certainly want to come back for many years to come.”

The global league will now cross to Europe for the next five Sail Grand Prix events. Racing will continue in Taranto, Italy (June 5-6), Plymouth UK (July 17-18), Aarhus, Denmark (August 20-21), Saint-Tropez, France (September 11-12) and Cádiz - Andalusia, Spain (October 9-10) before moving to 2022 with races in Christchurch, New Zealand (January 29-30) ahead of the Grand Final in San Francisco, U.S. (March 26-27).

Season Leaderboard: (after the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix)

1 // Great Britain // 10 pts
2 // Australia // 9 pts
3 // France // 8 pts
4 // Spain // 7 pts
5 // New Zealand // 6 pts
6 // Denmark // 5 pts
7 // Japan // 4 pts
8 // United States // 3 pts

For full results, visit SailGP.com/results. Visit SailGP.com/watch for details on how to watch race highlights.

Related Articles

ROCKWOOL France Sail Grand Prix Day 1
Fletcher flies high on turbulent first day Day one of the ROCKWOOL France Sail Grand Prix went the way of Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team as they topped the event leaderboard after the first four fleet races of the weekend in Saint-Tropez. Posted on 12 Sep
SailGP: Brits top leaderboard after Day 1
A squirrely 15-18kts breeze opened up plenty of opportunity for aggressive tactics. Emirates GBR topped the SailGP France leaderboard after the first day of racing in Saint Tropez. The squirrely 15-18kt breeze was distorted by the surrounding high terrain, channeling the pressure and direction, caused some dramatic switching of places. Posted on 12 Sep
Riviera racing: SailGP set for Saint-Tropez return
As league confirms 2026 expansion team plans The Rolex SailGP Championship returns tomorrow - and France's famous "Mistral [wind] has turned up just in time," according to league CEO Sir Russell Coutts. Twelve national teams will hit the startline for the sold-out event. Posted on 11 Sep
SailGP launches new rudders
And unveils further innovations ahead of Saint-Tropez event SailGP has today announced significant steps forward in technological innovation and fleet capability, with the launch of new rudders and plans for automated foil-protection software specifically for high speed, highly-loaded maneuvers. Posted on 10 Sep
SailGP Racing on the Edge Season 5 Episode 9
Germany find their spark in latest episode of Racing on the Edge After a disastrous start to their 2025 Season - seemingly-defined by an unprecedented 12-point penalty in Sydney - the Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank have been fighting to prove themselves. Posted on 8 Sep
SailGP: The sky is the limit for Auckland
Auckland to set world record venue spectator audience at Rolex SailGP with 30% stand expansion SailGP Auckland will take place on Valentine's Weekend 2026 with a 30 percent increase in grandstand size to accommodate more than 10,000 fans daily in the purpose-built Race Stadium at Wynyard Point, alongside hospitality and other ticketed products. Posted on 24 Aug
Fairytale win for France in SailGP Germany debut
Bouncing back from damage and injury in practice, Les Bleus win in Sassnitz In a stunning weekend comeback, the France SailGP Team claimed their first event win of the 2025 Season - bouncing back from near-disaster in practice to beat the BONDS Flying Roos and Emirates GBR in an action-packed winner-takes-all Final. Posted on 17 Aug
SailGP confirms long-term commitment
To racing in Germany, Australia, Brazil, USA, UK and UAE SailGP, the world's most exciting racing on water, has today announced a major three-season commitment to host the Germany Sail Grand Prix in August, cementing Sassnitz as a returning to the championship's calendar on August 22-23, 2026. Posted on 17 Aug
Australia lead after record-setting opening day
ROCKWOOL Denmark hit 103.93 km/h at Germany Sail Grand Prix Australia tops the table after a fast and furious day one of the inaugural Germany Sail Grand Prix. Thousands of fans cheered from the sold-out Race Stadium, as the Germany SailGP Team, presented by Deutsche Bank, claimed the opening fleet race. Posted on 16 Aug
Double Trouble during Sassnitz SailGP Practice
Brazil hull collapses and French rudder flies off There was drama in Sassnitz during SailGP practice racing as firstly the French SailGP Team's starboard rudder broke off during a windward mark bear away, and then on the same leg Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team nose dived, with the main crossbeam collapsing. Posted on 15 Aug