Phil Robertson and crew battle back from technical setbacks to take P2 in Race 4, closing the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix eighth overall.
Hamilton, Bermuda, 10 May 2026 – Red Bull Italy SailGP Team finished eighth overall at the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix, the fifth event of Season 6, after a demanding weekend that included a strong second-place finish in Race 4 and a series of technical challenges to overcome.
Twelve international teams raced foiling F50 catamarans on the Great Sound, with thousands of fans packing a sold-out Race Stadium at Morgan’s Point as SailGP returned to Bermuda after a season away – the venue that hosted the 35th America’s Cup in 2017 and is widely considered one of the homes of high-performance sailing.
Bermuda lived up to its reputation, delivering medium-to-strong breeze that made the Great Sound one of the most technical racecourses of the year.
Saturday opened with the fleet on the 24-metre all-purpose wings in gusty, technical conditions. During the pre-start of Race 1, a strong gust triggered a foil ventilation phenomenon: the F50 climbed too high above the water, air drew down along the foil profile, and a sudden loss of hydrodynamic lift sent the bow back into the water, compromising several onboard systems.
Despite the damage, driver Phil Robertson and his crew completed the opening race in sixth, banking valuable points. Knock-on effects from the impact – a wing control issue and a subsequent oil leak – forced the team out of Races 2 and 3, with the shore team delivering an effective turnaround between water and dock to get the F50 back on the start line for the final race of the day.
The highlight came in Race 4. After a strong start, the Italian team raced hard from start to finish to cross the line second behind the Bonds Flying Roos, closing Saturday in seventh overall and remaining in contention heading into Super Sunday.
Super Sunday brought significantly lighter, patchier breeze, again with the 24-metre wings. The reduced pressure made the upper part of the racecourse particularly tactical, with wind holes and shifts forcing teams into continuous transitions between foiling and displacement mode.
Red Bull Italy SailGP Team posted a sixth in Race 5 after a tight battle with Sweden’s Artemis Racing and Emirates GBR, followed by a seventh in Race 6 within an extremely compact leaderboard. In a final race defined by softening, fragmented breeze, the team finished seventh once more, closing the weekend eighth overall.
“It was great to be back in Bermuda and see so many past friends. It’s such an amazing place for racing F50s. It was a frustrating weekend with hydraulic issues on day one that took us out of race two and three – still the guys were able to get some good results in races one and four, but it’s really hard to carry those scores over the weekend and be in contention for the final. Hopeful that the boat comes back to 100% reliability in New York and we can take the learnings onto the Hudson river in NY,” said team CEO Jimmy Spithill.
“We had another difficult day, with further hydraulic issues just before the first start. There are things we need to review and improve, but we look ahead to New York with confidence: it will be a different event, in a different venue, and New York is a beautiful place to sail. We continue to trust our growth process: at times it can be frustrating, but it’s the only real way to improve,” said driver Phil Robertson.
Bonds Flying Roos extended their lead at the top of the 2026 Rolex SailGP Championship standings. Attention now turns to the sixth event of the season, the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix (May 30–31), one of the most iconic venues on the SailGP calendar.
Red Bull Italy SailGP Team
Red Bull Italy SailGP Team represents a new generation of high-performance sailing: fast, fearless, and forward-looking. Making its debut in the 2024-25 SailGP season, the team aims to push boundaries, inspire, and redefine the sport by uniting Italy’s finest sailing talent with international expertise. At the helm is Phil Roberson, SailGP Champion and one of the sport’s most dynamic athletes. Alongside him, sailing legend Jimmy Spithill leads as CEO and co-owner, bringing unmatched experience and vision. The ownership group, led by Assia Grazioli Venier and Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, combines entrepreneurial innovation and global perspective in a bold new chapter for Italian sailing.
SailGP
SailGP is widely regarded as the most thrilling racing on water, redefining the boundaries of modern sailing. The Rolex SailGP Championship is a global annual league that visits iconic cities around the world. Thirteen national teams – featuring some of the best athletes in the sport – compete on identical 50-foot foiling catamarans capable of exceeding 100 km/h and literally sailing faster than the wind.
SailGP combines sport and entertainment through its “stadium racing” format, with courses set close to shore to deliver a unique, high-adrenaline experience just meters from the action.
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