Los Gallos hold their nerve to top leaderboard in Sydney

Spain’s Los Gallos will charge into the final day of the KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix with the target firmly on their backs after taming Sydney Harbour’s shifty, pressure-packed conditions to seize pole position.

In a fleet where one bad tack can unravel a weekend the Spanish outfit kept their nerve, read the breeze like a book and emerged top of the leaderboard as Sydney challenged the F50 fleet.

Patchy, fickle breeze greeted the 11 teams as SailGP debuted twilight racing in Sydney Harbour, ramping up the spectacle for fans by another notch.

Thousands of spectators packed the harbor shoreline to catch the action and soak up the festival atmosphere as the third Grand Prix of the 2026 Season got underway.

All eyes were on the home team - Tom Slingsby’s BONDS Flying Roos - who started the event with an unmatched record on home waters with three Grands Prix wins in five seasons.

A dream start for the Aussies saw them hunt down early leaders ROCKWOOL Racing to take the first race win, to the delight of an army of cheering home fans.

But if Slingsby was thinking that race win would set the tone for the rest of the day he was so very wrong.

Light and patchy winds - unusual for Sydney at this time of year - caused havoc on the race course with huge holes opening up across the track and turning each leg into a high-stakes lottery.

One minute teams were flying at full throttle, the next they were parked and praying for pressure.

The Aussies were among those caught out as the breeze flicked and faded, slipping back through the fleet while Spain kept stacking solid scores.

Los Gallos played the percentages, staying patient through the lulls and striking when lanes opened up.

They go into day two with a four-point lead over the BONDS Flying Roos, with Artemis a further two points back in third.

Further down the course, opportunities came and went in a heartbeat. Red Bull Italy, Artemis SailGP and Emirates GBR all showed flashes of brilliance, but consistency proved elusive in the fickle breeze.

A solid day for the U.S. SailGP Team was hampered by a two-point penalty from the umpires for causing damage to the Swiss boat at the start of the third race.

Three more fleet races are chalked up for Sunday, before the top three teams contest the winner-takes-all final to decide who takes the spoils - and the USD $400,000 prize.

And with a forecast set to throw more curveballs tomorrow, it’s all to play for.