Data Dive: Sydney Sail Grand Prix
What can we take away from the data following the KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix?
Published 03/4/2026
Arguably, there is only one number from the weekend’s KPMG Sydney Sail Grand Prix that truly matters – the U.S. SailGP Team finished in P1: event winners.
But with a plethora of data provided by the Oracle Cloud, we can go deeper to determine exactly how Taylor Canfield and the Crew delivered their most impressive result to date.
Welcome to the Data Dive…
1. Hanging back pays offÂ
Speaking afterwards, driver Canfield admitted the U.S. SailGP Team’s strategy had been to stay out of the way of the 10 other teams in tricky light-air conditions to avoid having too much disturbed air put onto the F50.
That was born out in the data, which has the U.S. SailGP Team making more maneuvers than anyone else on Day 1 (50), in an attempt to sail their own race and avoid being disrupted.
The team that completed the next most maneuvers was NorthStar Canada on 37.
2. Firing at the line on Day 2
However, it was a different story altogether on Day 2 for the U.S. SailGP Team who started three of their four races impressively, picking up a P3 and a P1 in fleet racing.
No team could top the U.S. SailGP Team’s boat speed at the line (15 km/hr) with only reigning Champions Emirates GBR (13.2 km/hr) coming close. The Crew also recorded the highest speed of the day (46.2 km/hr) – no mean feat with such little wind.
All of which meant that nobody was closer to the line at start time than Canfield’s crew (7 meters) and nobody had a better mean position at Mark One (2.8). Few drivers are better in such testy light conditions and Canfield once more reinforced his credentials.
3. Danish display provides optimism
Nicolai Sehested and ROCKWOOL Racing are always box office and this weekend’s event in Sydney was no exception.
The Danes went 7-3-1 on Sunday to almost qualify for the Final, falling six points short across the weekend. But in winds of less than 10 km/hr, the so-called ‘Flying Viking’ delivered a sterling display.
ROCKWOOL sailed less distance (6,297m) than anyone else on the course and performed the fewest maneuvers (11), a model of efficiency.
While all 11 teams struggled to foil consistently, Denmark spent more time flying (16%) than anyone else and had the highest ride height (165mm) of anyone on the course. The result? The highest mean boat speed (18.1 km/hr).Â
The U.S. SailGP Team was just behind at 17.7 km/hr, thanks to our own flight control specialist, Hans Henken!
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