Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix, Portsmouth, 25–26 July 2026. Britain’s home SailGP weekend ended with Spain lifting the winners’ wheel and Emirates GBR left to reflect on an 11th-place finish.
Los Gallos won a close four-team final on the Solent on Sunday 26 July, ahead of Sweden’s Artemis and Canada’s NorthStar. Switzerland’s Explora Swiss completed the final line-up.
Spain found the decisive move
According to SailGP’s official race report, the Spanish crew took advantage of stronger wind pressure on the opposite side of the course after splitting from Artemis. They moved into the lead on the penultimate leg and held it to the finish.
The result gave Los Gallos consecutive Grand Prix victories and moved them into second in the championship standings after eight events. Those were the positions at the end of the Portsmouth weekend, rather than the final season standings.
Britain’s challenge slipped away
Emirates GBR’s own account described a difficult home event. After sixth and fourth places in Saturday’s opening group races, the team recovered to win the third race and entered Sunday fourth in Group B.
The recovery did not last. A fifth place in the next group race left pressure on the final outing. Britain made a strong start but came off the foils at the opening mark, ending their hopes of reaching the final.
Driver Dylan Fletcher and strategist Hannah Mills both acknowledged the disappointment in the team’s post-event report. They also thanked the home supporters, with the team reporting a ticketed crowd of 20,000 across the weekend.
A busy weekend on the Southsea waterfront
The racing was accompanied by performances from Jess Glynne on Saturday and Craig David on Sunday. For the British team, however, the sporting priority after Portsmouth was to analyse the result and improve before the next event.
The weekend’s contrast was clear in the official records: an important Spanish win and a missed opportunity for the home crew, despite their race victory on the opening day.
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Racing on 26 July 2026 in Portsmouth, with Germany ahead of a group including Artemis and Emirates GBR. © Ricardo Pinto for SailGP. Handout supplied by SailGP for editorial use with SailGP coverage.