SailGP Arrives in València With Abu Dhabi in Sight
by SailGP 5 Sep 07:10 BST
5-6 September 2026
DS Automobiles SailGP Team France leads ROCKWOOL Racing SailGP Team, Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank and United States SailGP Team in a practice session ahead of the Spain Sail Grand Prix © Felix Diemer for SailGP
The Rolex SailGP Championship arrives in Spain this weekend - setting sail for the very first time in València. Thirteen international teams will contest the brand-new racecourse set between the city beach and the harbor breakwater, as the championship races towards its decisive phase.
The event comes at a critical time for 2024 Rolex SailGP Champions, Los Gallos, as the home team look to solidify their lead and close the 14-point gap between themselves and frontrunners, the Bonds Flying Roos.
"It's a very special feeling," said driver Diego Botín. "We have the chance to race at home once a year, and for us and our team it's an incredible boost. SailGP is an international competition that takes us to iconic cities around the world, but nothing beats racing at home with all the support of the fans. We're really looking forward to this week."
Back-to-back winners in Halifax and Portsmouth, strategist Nicole van der Velden says the job in València is to maintain focus on the road ahead. Despite their standout form in recent seasons, Spain has never made an event final at home.
"We always want to do the best we can at every event and, obviously, we want to win. That's why we're all here," she said. "But ultimately, the first thing is to get those two places ahead of us and make the Final. Once we're in the Final, then it's all about going for the win."
Only three events remain between teams and the season-deciding Grand Final in Abu Dhabi in November. And while some crews are hoping to maximize recent momentum, others risk running out of time to earn the third and final spot in the winner-takes-all race.
That includes 2025 Season defending champions Emirates GBR, for whom València is pivotal battle ground to gain places ahead of rivals including NorthStar, France and the U.S. SailGP Team - all firmly in the fight in the Race to Abu Dhabi.
Driver Dylan Fletcher said, "We've obviously not had a good run of it recently, but we were in this position last year and we pulled it out of the bag with a strong finish. The team is working tirelessly to try and improve in every little area."
"It's a different set of conditions this weekend and we'll see how we get on," Fletcher continued. "Ultimately, in the last two events we've been two points away from the final. It's fine margins in SailGP and we've just been on the wrong side of them."
The Spain Sail Grand Prix | Valencia gets under way Saturday, September 5 at 1:30 p.m. CEST. Spanish fans can watch live on Vamos 2 on both days, with racing broadcast around the world - find out more at SailGP.com/Watch.