Rewind: Previous British Grands Prix
We recap the previous British Grands Prix ahead of July’s Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth…
Published 06/30/2025
SailGP returns to Great Britain for the fourth time in its history – the first in 2025 – at an all-new venue.
Season Five takes the fleet to Portsmouth for the first time, the historic dockland on the South Coast of Britain. Previous Grands Prix have been held in Plymouth – another historic maritime city deep in the South West – and Cowes, an English seaport town on the Isle of Wight.
So, let’s take a step back in time…
Season One: Cowes
What do you think of when you think of Great Britain? Red telephone boxes, the King, soccer and, probably, the weather – and not always in a positive way!
In 2019 and Season One of SailGP, that proved to be the case as extreme weather off the Isle of Wight meant racing was reduced to just three fleet races on Saturday before the decision was taken to abandon the racing with strong winds forecast.
It was Tom Slingsby and Australia – now BONDS Flying Roos – who took gold despite the conditions, after winning all three races. In doing so, they finished ahead of Japan (2nd) and China (3rd).
It was an event to forget for the home nation as Great Britain suffered damage during Race One that ruled them out of the remaining fleets. For the U.S. SailGP team, it was 6th, 4th and 5th in a shortened weekend.
The U.S. SailGP Team F50 in action in Plymouth in Season Two of SailGP
Season Two: Plymouth
Originally slated to be the fifth event of SailGP Season Two, the season was delayed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic while results from Sydney were declared null and void. All of which meant this was actually event three on the truncated calendar.
But it certainly did not lack drama!
With a number of replacement athletes taking part owing to others’ involvement in the delayed 2020 Summer Olympic Games, the U.S. SailGP Team reached the Final after going 2-5-1-4-6 through the fleet races.
What made that win in Race Three all the more impressive was the fact the U.S. SailGP Team narrowly avoided a collision with Spain that resulted in their disqualification – the first such disqualification in Championship history.
Not the first time, it was Slingsby and Australia who prevailed to take the win – despite losing their rudders early on – while France nabbed second and the U.S. SailGP Team clinched third.
It was the perfect bounceback for the Aussies who had been last in Italy during their previous outing, and were searching for their first event win of the season.
The U.S. SailGP Team near the coast during the 2023 British Sail Grand Prix
Season Three: Plymouth
It was back to Devon for Season Three with Australia in imperious form and favourites to clinch a third straight Championship. Back-to-back wins to open the season in Bermuda and Chicago made Slingsby and co. the team to watch in Britain.
They looked like they were living up to that billing when they won Race Two and picked up two more top-three finishes to qualify for the Final. But it was Peter Burling and New Zealand (2-2-1-5-1) who stole the show, triumphing over the Aussies to take their first ever Final win.
Quickest off the line, Burling and the Black Foils had to endure light winds that meant all three teams came off the foils. But after stealing the lead from Rockwool Denmark and Nicolai Sehested, they never looked back.
There was disappointment for the U.S. SailGP Team who improved across the weekend but still missed out after going 9-6-7-5-5.
Hosts Great Britain were in for yet more home-water heartbreak as they missed the Final following a last-minute penalty award for a close cross to Australia a mere 200m from the finish line.
So far the British Grand Prix has provided plenty of drama, historic wins and more – what will Season Five have in store for us across July 19-20?
HOW TO PLAY
Sign up / log into your account
Answer each question
Add "wagers" based on your confidence in your answers
If needed: Edit your answers (before the end of the round)
Check back after the round closes to see how you did!
*Each right answer moves you up on the board. The more you wager, the more you win!
Show More
Loading...
Support
Contact
Powered By
© FanCapital LLC