Australia wins Sassnitz SailGP as France sets speed record of 107.63 km/h

Australian victory and final round

Australia's Bonds Flying Roos secured their fifth event win of the sixth SailGP season on the Baltic waters off Sassnitz. Helmsman Tom Slingsby steered the crew to first place in the four-boat final, finishing ahead of Team NorthStar Canada in second and Spain's Los Gallos in third. New Zealand's Black Foils completed the final field in fourth position after qualifying through the group stages. The decisive race unfolded in rain and shifting southern winds before the breeze dropped near the finish, slowing Canada, Spain, and New Zealand into single-digit speeds. Australia collected a 400,000 dollar winner's prize, while Canada received 240,000 dollars and Spain took 140,000 dollars.

It was unbelievably hard, a lot of wind. We didn't look good in the first race today, had problems. I'm glad that it worked out with the win in the end.

Record speed on the Baltic course

The racing area off the island of Ruegen reaffirmed its reputation as the fastest venue in the championship. Team France set a SailGP speed record by piloting their F50 catamaran to 107.63 kilometers per hour during the weekend. That performance surpassed the previous league mark of 103.93 kilometers per hour, set by the Danish team at Sassnitz in 2025. Despite establishing the record pace, driver Quentin Delapierre and the French crew missed qualification for the final. The French team competed against twelve other national crews across the preliminary heats.

It was a bit scary, but also a feeling that I never had before in SailGP.

Mixed fortunes for German hosts

Team Germany, co-owned by entrepreneur Thomas Riedel and four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel, finished the event in seventh place. Steered by two-time Olympic bronze medalist Erik Kosegarten-Heil, the crew secured two preliminary race wins, including a start-to-finish victory on Saturday and another win in race four on Sunday. The Sunday victory came after the boat recovered from an early start penalty by finding wind pressure on the left side of the course. However, a poor start in heat five left Germany one point short of reaching the four-boat final. In the overall season standings, Germany sits eighth among the 13 competing teams.

We fought well, but the start was not top-notch. After that we made no more mistakes, but we also had no chance to get to the front.

Spectators and future calendar

The event drew large crowds to the coastal town despite persistent rain and restricted visibility during the final races. Ticket sales exceeded 15,000 across the two days, with 13,000 spectators present including Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Minister-President Manuela Schwesig. SailGP founder Russell Coutts watched from the grandstand and confirmed that Sassnitz will remain on the championship calendar for 2027. The German stop was the ninth of 13 regattas scheduled for the season. The championship moves next to Valencia, Spain, for round ten on September 5 and 6, 2026.

These are wonderful conditions that we have here on the Baltic Sea.