Spain's Los Gallos win second consecutive event on a blustery day in Portsmouth
by SailGP Media 26 Jul 21:19 BST
25-26 July 2026
Spain's Los Gallos have claimed their second consecutive event win - defeating Artemis, Explora Swiss and Northstar - in a four-boat final that went down to the wire.
With the points tallied, Spain inched closer to Australia's Bonds Flying Roos in the Rolex SailGP Championship standings, while Artemis moved into third overall - overtaking the United States and Emirates GBR after a standout weekend in Portsmouth.
Celebrating on-shore, winning driver Diego Botín called it, "An amazing weekend - with the conditions we had - very windy, with a small wing, which we love. It was amazing to get the win back to back after Halifax; it felt like we were gelling as a team in every aspect."
Finishing second, Artemis' weekend scorecard never dipped below third - as the team picked up more points than any other team (19) on the event leaderboard. Driver Nathan Outteridge said, "We said we've got to start working on our consistency, and to get two finals in a row now, and two seconds, is really pleasing."
Outteridge continued, "The final could have gone either way. We had the lead, we had a really good start, and it's always tough when you get the choice of which top mark you want to take and the boat behind goes the other way and passes you. It's a little tough, but the fact that we're in the mix and doing all the basic things really well is really good."
The weekend marked continued progress for Canada's NorthStar SailGP Team, who finished third in their second event final of the season. The Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team finished fourth, a motivating result for driver Sébastien Schneiter as he continues to chase his inaugural event win.
Seeded into two groups, teams competed in two qualifying fleet races each - equipped once again with the high-speed 18-meter wingsail, rudders and foils to maximize top-end conditions. Despite a standout opening day, New Zealand's Black Foils struggled in Group A - handed down two costly penalties in race four, which dropped last year's Portsmouth winners to fifth.
In Group B, it was a frustrating event for Emirates GBR, whose hopes of a home Final were dashed after a series of mid-fleet results and a costly error in their fifth and final qualifying race of the day. Having finally found a strong start, the British crew came off the foils at the first mark and could recover only to sixth, ending their home campaign in the group stage.
Strategist Hannah Mills said, "We made a new plan today and got it together, but unfortunately the second race was a bit tricky with the Swiss boat, we were so close to each other going around that mark, and a boat handling error from us meant that the race was done. Then in the first race we made too many mistakes, particularly approaching the bottom marks. We've got a lot of work to do to get ourselves back where we need to be."
It was also a weekend to forget for the Bonds Flying Roos, whose sole race win on Sunday came too late to rescue a campaign that never got going. The Championship leaders finished seventh overall, missing the final after a weekend that fell well below their usual standard.
Despite the results, British fans had plenty to celebrate - including the most competitive racing seen across the season to date, as every one of the ten group races in Portsmouth went to a different team.
With a ticketed crowd of 20,000 across the weekend, Emirates GBR driver Dylan Fletcher said, "The fans have been amazing, and all credit to the sport, despite us not delivering the result they wanted. It was amazing to see all the kids with their t-shirts on. So thanks for coming down, and hopefully we've inspired the next generation a little bit."
Next month, the Rolex SailGP Championship races ahead to Germany for the second iteration of the Rockwool Germany Sail Grand Prix | Sassnitz, August 22-23, 2026.