SailGP: Black Foils need to produce their Sunday best, and a Prayer

Black Foils SailGP Team - Race Day 1 of the Spain Sail Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain. Saturday 5 September . Rolex SailGP Championship Event 10 Season. Photo: Samo Vidic for SailGP. Handout image supplied by SailGP © Samo Vidic/SailGP

New Zealand’s Black Foils will need to be at their best on Sunday to reach the Spain Sail Grand Prix final after a challenging opening day in Valencia.

A penalty for an early start in the opening race left the Black Foils sixth. A fourth followed, before another sixth left the team seventh in Group A overnight, eight behind second-placed Red Bull Italy. The top two teams from each group advance to the four-boat final.

“It was a really tough day today. We struggled to get off the line and then find opportunities beyond that,” said Black Foils co-CEO and driver Peter Burling.

Starts proved decisive in Valencia’s light, tricky conditions, with all six of Saturday’s race winners leading at the first mark. “If you can get your nose in front, build speed and get up on the foils, you’re in really good shape at mark one. We couldn’t quite manage to get that done today, so it was pretty frustrating,” Burling said.

Different small details had tripped the team up across the three races, he added, with few opportunities to split from the boats ahead and make gains. Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos lead Group A on 11 points after one win, with Red Bull Italy winning the other two races. Spain’s Los Gallos gave the home crowd back-to-back wins in Group B before a second place, finishing the day on 14 points, two clear of Rockwool Racing.

With 10 points available on Sunday, the Black Foils need at least eight, the equivalent of a win and a third or two second places, to have a chance of reaching the final, depending on results elsewhere in Group A.

“There’s plenty to play for. A couple of teams have probably jumped out a little bit, but it’s super close amongst the rest,” Burling said. “It’ll be whoever puts together a good performance tomorrow, and I’m sure we’ll still have a shot at making the final going into that last race.”

Sunday’s racing is scheduled from 1.30pm to 3pm local time, 11.30pm on Sunday 6 September to 1am on Monday 7 September NZT, with live coverage on YoutTube.

About the Black Foils

The Black Foils are Aotearoa New Zealand’s SailGP team, established in 2020 by Olympic and America’s Cup champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. They entered the championship in Season 2 and are now one of its most recognisable teams. In 2026, MSP Sports Capital acquired a majority stake in the team, with the founders continuing as co-CEOs. The Black Foils race with purpose, supporting their Race for the Future partner Live Ocean, the marine conservation foundation the pair founded. At the heart of the team is a mission to race for a healthy ocean, and a healthy future.

About Live Ocean

Live Ocean is a marine conservation foundation committed to scaling up action for the ocean. Founded by sailors and ocean champions, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, the foundation scales up marine science, innovation and outreach to connect and ignite people around the role a healthy ocean plays in a healthy future. Live Ocean partners with exceptional New Zealand marine scientists, innovators and communicators whose work has global implications for the protection of the ocean and the life in it. To have a healthy future, we must have a healthy ocean.

About SailGP

The most exciting racing on water, the Rolex SailGP Championship sees national teams battling it out in identical high-tech, high-speed 50-foot foiling catamarans at iconic venues around the world. Racing faster than the wind at speeds faster than 100 km/h (60 mph), SailGP is driven by the sport’s top athletes, with national pride, personal glory, and a total prize money of US$12.8 million at stake. Powered by nature (wind, sea and sun), SailGP races for a better future. Visit SailGP.com to find out more.