Britain beats Australia and France to win the first event of the 2026 Sail GP season

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PERTH, Australia (AP) — Defending champion Great Britain won the first event of the sixth season of Sail GP Sunday, beating home favorite Australia and France in a three-boat final.

Britain hit the start line fastest in the final, edging France while Australia incurred a boundary line penalty in the start box and had to start behind its two rivals.

The British team then sailed a flawless race to hold the lead throughout while Australia crossed the finish line just ahead of France.

“It's an incredible start to the 2026 season,” British driver Dylan Fletcher said. "We had a few problems yesterday but I'm really proud of the way the team came together today and it's great to get the win.

"There's plenty to work on but we'll keep chipping away all season.

Racing took place at the mouth of the Swan River near Fremantle, a coastal town near Perth in Western Australia.

The famous Fremantle Doctor, a strong south-westerly sea breeze, came in just in time for racing each day, gusting around 35kmh and creating choppy conditions which were among the most extreme many crews have experienced.

Racing takes place between identical 50 foot catamarans which rise out of the water on foils, allowing boats to “fly." On Sunday boats reached speeds of more than 90 kph (56 mph). In the windy conditions, boats were using an 18 meter wing sail.

Only 11 of the 13 boats in this season's Sail GP series lined up in the first of Sunday's three fleet races. Spain missed the entire event after suffering a training mishap while New Zealand was ruled out of the event after a collision with Switzerland only minutes into the opening race of the season.

Switzerland was on starboard jibe approaching the end of the second left on Saturday's first race and had the right of way, while New Zealand, on port, tried to cross ahead of the Swiss boat. New Zealand seemed likely to just scrape past but the Swiss boat collided with the stern of New Zealand's boat.

New Zealand was later penalized by umpires for its part in the incident.

The New Zealand boat suffered extensive damage but is expected to be able to race in its home event in Auckland, New Zealand from Feb. 14.

Series newcomers Sweden won two of the four fleet races on the first day Saturday while Australia and France won one each. Sweden was in contention for the final until the seventh and last fleet race Sunday, when an error at the start saw it trail the field. It finished fourth overall, just outside the top three.

Britain won the first two fleet races Sunday to secure its place in the final. Italy was second and Australia third in the first race while France and Australia were second and third in the second race.

Canada won the start and led throughout the final fleet race to beat France, Australia and Britain.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports