SailGP: New speed record set at Sassnitz. Antipodeans top Day 1 standings
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 22 Aug 15:55 BST
DS Automobiles France - Day 1 - Rockwool Germany Sail Grand Prix - Sassnitz - August 22, 2026 © Jason Ludlow/SailGP
Black Foils and the Bonds Flying Roos top the points standings in Groups A and B, respectively, after a high-octane Day 1 at the Rockwool Germany Sail Grand Prix.
Sassnitz was widely expected to deliver another SailGP speed record, and left it until the final Mark 1 bear away before DS Automobiles France tripped their speedometer at 107.63 km/h, or 58.11kts - which is the fastest speed set in racing of any SailGP or America's Cup.
The F50s were set up for speed with the 18-metre rig, small jib, and high-speed foils.
The new speed record was set at a chaotic mark rounding where Denmark were initially credited with the fastest speed at 106.4km/h (57.45kts), however France took a much wider angle at the first mark and flew down the outside, as Quentin Delapierre and friends collected their wits.
The day was notable for every race being different. There weren't a lot of passing lanes, with the boat that led around Mark 2 going on to win the race.
Behind them, there were some changes, with the generally fresh breeze being variable in both strength and pressure. Typical was the start of Race 3 of Group A, the final race of the day, when a rain squall hit just before the start, causing the breeze to drop abruptly. It caught the Kiwis, dropping them off the front of the grid. Italy and Brazil were left to wallow off their foils at the back, while the front four ripped down the Sprint leg at speeds that quickly climbed to over 80km/h.
With two races in each group left to sail, Los Gallos (ESP) have plenty of work ahead of them if they are to close up a four-point deficit and make the cut out of Group A. As it stands, the Black Foils (12pts) and DS Automobiles France (11pts) should go through.
In Group B, the Bonds Flying Roos should go through, enjoying a 4pt margin over Artemis Racing (SWE). Just 2pts separate four teams - Sweden, Great Britain, USA and Canada. All four enjoyed their moments of delight and despair, and all will be striving to find some consistency. Sweden will need to do better than scoring a string of three third places. The others all had first or second places on their scoresheet, marred by being close to the back of the fleet in one race.
The forecast for Sunday is similar to Saturday.