The Rolex SailGP Championship is back and the race for the title starts now. The 2026 Season opens this weekend with the most fiercely contested campaign since the league’s inception.
For the first time, 13 teams representing 13 nations will take to the startline at the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix, presented by KPMG on January 17-18 as SailGP enters its next phase of global growth. Margins have tightened, pressure has intensified, and with a record prize purse of USD $12.8 million, the message from SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts is clear: nothing is guaranteed.
TEAMS, COMPETITION & RIVALRIES
The 2026 Season reached a dramatic conclusion in Abu Dhabi, where Emirates Great Britain claimed the Rolex SailGP Championship on the Arabian Gulf, defeating BONDS Flying Roos and New Zealand Black Foils in a winner-takes-all Grand Final. The victory capped a standout campaign for the British crew, who secured the season title and US $2 million prize. Across the season, the Brits picked up more than US $4.4 million – more than any other team.
For Australia and New Zealand, narrow misses in Abu Dhabi leave unfinished business – and with this season opening on home waters, both teams will be looking to make an early statement.
The 2026 Season opens with the deepest and most competitive fleet SailGP has ever assembled. As Emirates Great Britain head into 2026 with a target on their back, the new season brings fresh faces and shifting crew line-ups across the fleet. Some teams arrive with significant rebuilds, while others have doubled down on experience and continuity. Rivalries remain at the heart of SailGP’s appeal, with historic clashes between established heavyweights sitting alongside fresh on-water showdowns as emerging teams look to disrupt the hierarchy.
That disruption is embodied most clearly by Artemis SailGP. Representing Sweden as the thirteenth team to join the championship, Artemis arrives as the new force on the startline armed with a star-studded crew. Led by Olympic gold medallist Iain Percy, with Nathan Outteridge in the driver's seat, Artemis enters the championship as a serious competitor from race one.
NEW HOSTS SET TO MAKE THEIR MARK
Perth joins the SailGP calendar for the first time as part of the championship’s most expansive season to date. The 2026 Season introduces new events in Perth and Rio, while also returning to fan-favorite venues including Halifax (Canada), Sassnitz (Germany) Portsmouth (Great Britain) and just confirmed Geneva (Switzerland), reinforcing SailGP’s position as a truly global sports championship.
With its rich maritime heritage and infamous Fremantle ‘Doctor’ winds, Perth is primed to deliver high-speed, close-to-shore action from race one. Marking SailGP’s 50th event, the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix, presented by KPMG carries added significance as the opening chapter of the 2026 Season. Four athletes are set to reach the 50-event milestone in Perth - Olivier Herlédant (France SailGP), Neil Hunter and Luke Parkinson (Emirates Great Britain), alongside Iain Jensen (BONDS Flying Roos).
Demand for the inaugural event has been exceptionally strong, with the weekend now sold out, underlining the appetite for SailGP’s arrival in Western Australia.
TAKING PERFORMANCE TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN 2026 – AND BEYOND
It’s been a busy off season for teams and the league, with SailGP announcing its first long-term training base in Pensacola, Florida, through a partnership with American Magic – bringing together two leaders in elite sail racing.
Launching later this year, the base will provide SailGP teams with year-round access to world-class facilities and, for the first time, consistent training on the F50. The result: sharper crews, a higher competitive baseline across the fleet and a championship increasingly decided by execution under pressure rather than preparation disparities - making SailGP faster and tougher than ever before.
This season, SailGP will also introduce its new F50 License, aimed at reinforcing safety and accountability, in line with other global racing properties. Under the system, drivers would demonstrate capability to operate the F50 at speed, with license points impacted by safety and on-water technical breaches - further raising standards across the fleet.
NEW INNOVATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Cutting-edge technology continues to push the limits of performance in SailGP. Titanium T-Foils helped teams surpass the 100 km/h barrier in Season 2025, with ROCKWOOL Racing setting a new speed benchmark of 103.93 km/h.
The 2026 Season builds on that momentum with the recent introduction of SailGP’s 27.5-meter wing, offering greater versatility across wind ranges. The innovation is designed to deliver tighter racing, increased intensity and even more dramatic moments for fans.
IMPACT LEAGUE LAUNCHES WITH RENEWED FOCUS
The first league of its kind in global sport, SailGP’s Impact League remains a pillar of SailGP teams, rewarding measurable impact alongside on-water performance. For 2026, the league will focus equally on Better Planet and Better Sport, with relevant projects delivering real results across the season.
Projects will be independently judged and deliberately broad in scope, allowing teams to deliver impact that is meaningful to their athletes, partners and communities. A refined “Business as Usual” framework returns, recognising teams that embed responsible, measurable practices into everyday operations.
SAILGP 101 - HOW IT WORKS
SailGP is a global racing championship designed to redefine professional sailing. The league operates a centrally organised structure with identical, one-design F50 foiling catamarans and shared performance data, creating a genuinely level playing field where any team can win on their day.
Racing takes place in close-to-shore “stadium” environments, bringing fans closer to the action than ever before and delivering a made-for-television broadcast product. Teams compete across multiple races per event, with points accumulated towards the overall championship standings. Only the top three teams progress to a winner-takes-all Final at each event, where execution under pressure is decisive.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans can follow all the action from the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix, presented by KPMG, across 12 major broadcast territories, as SailGP continues to grow its global audience. Coverage will be available in the UK (TNT Sports), France (Canal+), Germany (ZDF) , Spain (Movistar), Italy (Sky Italia) and Sweden (TV4). Viewers in the Americas can watch via CBS (USA), TSN (Canada) and Globo and Band (Brazil), while Great Sports will broadcast in China . Coverage will also be available on Fox Sports and SBS in Australia, with Sky Sport NZ showing the action in New Zealand.
FOR MEDIA USE – SAILGP SPOKESPERSON QUOTES
Commenting ahead of the 2026 Season, SailGP CEO and Co-Founder, Sir Russell Coutts, said: “With eight different teams winning events last season, it’s already extremely competitive. With Artemis SailGP Team joining, I’d expect them to be fighting for podiums straight away given the talent they’ve assembled.
“We’ve also seen some key crew changes, even among the top teams, which will mix things up. Teams like ROCKWOOL Racing and Germany by Deutsche Bank finished last season very strongly across very different conditions, and that’s impressive. Overall, it’s shaping up to be a very competitive year.”
Dylan Fletcher, Emirates Great Britain Driver and 2025 Season Rolex SailGP Champion, said: “2025 was a great season for us - we delivered when it mattered and learned a huge amount along the way. But as we know, SailGP doesn’t stand still and neither can we.
“Heading into the new season we know we’ve got a target on our backs. The level of competition across the fleet keeps on rising, and the battles are fierce. This season we have welcomed Stu Bithell on-board, so it’s great to be reunited with my Olympic partner for the first time since we won gold together at the Tokyo 2020 Games. As a team, our focus is on pushing our standards even further and being ready to deliver at the very top of the championship.”
Nathan Outteridge, Driver of Artemis SailGP, leading Sweden as the thirteenth team on startline, said: “Since announcing that Artemis would be joining SailGP for the 2026 Season, we’ve had some time to align as a team and be really clear on how we want to race. SailGP doesn’t give you long to find your feet, so we are focused on being sharp from the very first race and continuing to build on that momentum.
“Artemis SailGP has a huge amount of both Swedish and international talent and experience - now we’re ready to put it to the test in one of the most competitive environments in global sport.”
For the latest news, updates and broadcast information ahead of the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix, presented by KPMG, on January 17-18, visit sailgp.com/perth .