Los Gallos Claim Canada Sail Grand Prix Title in Four-Boat Thriller
by SailGP 21 Jun 22:30 BST
June 20-21, 2026
Los Gallos SailGP Team driven by Diego Botin crosses the finish line to win the final race on Race Day 2 of the Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax, Canada © Jonathan Nackstrand for SailGP
Los Gallos claimed their first event win of the 2026 Season, defeating the Artemis SailGP Team in a four-boat final that went down to the wire at the Canada Sail Grand Prix. It marked Nathan Outteridge's second final in Artemis' debut season, and the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team's first final appearance of 2026.
Spanish driver Diego Botín said the result "felt amazing and the team has really good momentum."
He continued: "Every decision, every race we've been able to sail, we've been on the podium. We need this confidence going forward and we're improving all the time. It's been a long time coming, obviously. Not easy - the risk was high - but it paid off. It means everything to us."
The day's racing unfolded in brutal conditions, with winds beginning at 27 km/h - right on the upper limit for the 27.5m wingsail and light-air foils, as the fleet balanced outright speed with survival throughout.
In the race to the final, Artemis set the early pace, blasting off the line to win Group B's opening race of the day - their second victory in three Halifax starts. Los Gallos' path to the final was harder fought in Group A, which included some of the Rolex SailGP Championship's most dominant crews.
In the final qualifying fleet race, Peter Burling's Black Foils overtook Spain to keep their own hopes alive, but Los Gallos survived a late scare, holding off a charging ROCKWOOL Denmark by barely half a meter to claim the last final berth ahead of New Zealand. The Black Foils finished the weekend fifth overall, picking up their first points of the season so far.
Botín and his crew delivered when it mattered most in the final, surging from the back of the fleet to deny Artemis Racing and end the Bonds Flying Roos' bid for a record fifth consecutive event win.
Artemis driver Nathan Outteridge said, "Obviously we had to fight for places and then ultimately it was a really fun final. The first time we did it with four boats which was really cool to be a part of. We had our work cut out for us after rounding mark one in fourth, but the team did an awesome job keeping the boat going fast. We almost got there, moving up into second and getting past the Spanish, but they did a fantastic job on the last run just to hold us off."
Earlier in the day, Emirates Great Britain was involved in an incident during the warmup that damaged its wing, ruling Dylan Fletcher and his team out of the day's competition. Mubadala Brazil also suffered damage in Race 5 (A3), with the umpires handing down a four-point penalty for damage after the team crashed into a leeward gate mark.
Los Gallos now move into second place on the overall Rolex SailGP Championship standings, tied with Emirates GBR for points - both trailing the Bonds Flying Roos.
More than 12,000 ticketed fans came along to the second-ever Canada Sail Grand Prix, an event NorthStar driver Giles Scott called, "amazing."
"I'm just so, so glad for all of Halifax that the weather played ball today and we have an epic day of racing," Scott said. "It was amazing to be a part of. A bit disappointing that we couldn't crawl up anymore given our day yesterday but that is what it is. We've ended on a high today."
Next up, the Rolex SailGP Championship races ahead to an action-packed European summer, starting with the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Portsmouth, July 25-26, 2026. Limited tickets remain; visit SailGP.com/Portsmouth to find out more.