Rio Sail Grand Prix Data Dive: What The Numbers Reveal
What does the data tell us about last weekend’s Rio Sail Grand Prix?
Published 04/15/2026
The first quarter of the 2026 Rolex SailGP Championship is complete, following the BONDS Flying Roos’ stunning victory in Rio at the weekend.
Tom Slingsby’s crew pulled off a perfect Sunday by winning all three fleet races before clinching the winner-takes-all Final in Guanabara Bay.
But what does the data tell us after the weekend? Welcome to the Data Dive…
1. U.S. SailGP Team starts as they mean to continue
Various members of the U.S. SailGP Team have talked about the importance of refining their starting strategy. In Rio, the Crew nailed it – no team more consistently found themselves in the right position at the right time and the numbers back that up.
A team’s mean position at Mark 1 takes their average for the day when reaching the first mark on the race track. For Taylor Canfield and co. on Day 1, that was P3 – the highest position of any time in the fleet.
On Day 2, the Crew built on that good work. No one crossed the start line quicker than the U.S. SailGP Team – just 1.1 seconds after the klaxon went off. Nearest rivals ROCKWOOL Racing were a whole second behind.
Thanks to good teamwork on the F50, the U.S. SailGP Team were consistently closest to the start line – a mean distance of just 8m. The Danes, again the closest boat, were 2m further back.
2. The ‘Wind Whisperer’ lives up to his nickname
Artemis might be the new kids on the block but driver Nathan Outteridge has been there, done that and got the t-shirt when it comes to SailGP – and it showed in Rio.
The Australian, who has also driven for Japan, ROCKWOOL and New Zealand, used all his experience to ensure the Swedes were consistently in patches of wind and able to get up and foiling.
On Day 1, no team could match Artemis for flight time at 68% and the league’s newest team were behind only Germany presented by Deutsche Bank for ride height at an average of 632mm on a day where foiling conditions weren’t easy.
3. Aussies’ weekend-long dominance pays off
On the podium in every race bar one, had it not been for five penalty points, the BONDS Flying Roos would have collected more fleet race points (58) than any other team this season.Â
READ MORE: 5 THINGS YOU MISSED IN RIO
Slingsby’s crew were imperious in Brazil, and their success told two different stories. On Day 1, the Roos were the masters of passing other boats on the race track. Only Germany could better their nine overtakes with 14.Â
On Day 2, they dominated the startbox. Whatever the Aussies adjusted overnight worked. They went from an average of P5.5 at M1 to 2.5. They tied Red Bull Italy for average distance to the start line at 3m and were also level with Phil Robertson’s crew with a 0.8 second average to cross.Â
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