Emirates Great Britain crowned 2025 season Rolex SailGP Champions in Abu Dhabi

Emirates Great Britain won it all on the Arabian Gulf last weekend, defeating the BONDS Flying Roos and New Zealand’s Black Foils to become the third-ever nation to win the Rolex SailGP Championship.

The victory caps off a remarkable year for Dylan Fletcher and crew, who shaped one of the strongest performance arcs of the season – starting with the Olympic gold medallist’s return last November in Dubai. Where other crews may have faltered, the Brits rose – picking up more event wins (three), fleet race wins (11), and fleet race podiums (24) than any other crew.

Celebrating on shore, Fletcher said: “Everything was incredibly stressful – like we were up against the best sailors in the world. Even though the Grand Final teams hadn’t performed great this weekend, we were all managing our own little battles ourselves. So when it came down to it – I think you saw testament to how close it is at the top. Any one of us could have won that race and I’m very happy it was us.”

In a title fight that stayed alive to the very last breath, the winner-takes-all Grand Final race kept fans on the edge of their seat – with each team taking the lead at least once in the nine-minute showdown. While the Australians led the sprint to mark one, they were quickly hunted down by New Zealand, who had managed to gain a 100-metre lead at the mid-way point of the final race.

But Fletcher wasn’t done – clawing his way back from third to overhaul the BONDS Flying Roos and Black Foils on the fourth leg of the winner-takes-all shootout, with jubilant celebrations as the team crossed the finish line.

The RYA’s British Sailing Pathway and Olympic programmes have been the launchpad for a number of Emirates GBR’s elite athletes over the years – including Fletcher, strategist and two-time Olympic Champion Hannah Mills and Paris 2024 gold medallist Ellie Aldridge – and the team now becomes the first to top both the Rolex SailGP Championship and Impact League standings in a single season.

Emirates GBR principal and CEO Sir Ben Ainslie said: “I’m so proud of the team, both on and off the water. It’s been a long season with plenty of highs and lows, but to finish in such strong fashion — to win the Impact League, win the season outright, and then win the Grand Final — it’s a huge achievement. The team has been brilliant."

Book your piece of the action in 2026

SailGP fans won’t have all that long to wait for the next instalment of high-octane F50 racing, with just under two months until the 2026 season-opener in Perth (17-18 January) where the largest fleet in history – 13 nations – will hit the water.

But if you want to get even closer to the action next season, you can buy tickets now for the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix which returns to Portsmouth from 25-26 July 2026.

Find out more and get your tickets today.