A race win in the final fleet race lifted New Zealand's Black Foils to second place on the Germany Sail Grand Prix leaderboard, the team sitting on 24 points, level with France and trailing leaders the Bonds Flying Roos on 32 points.
Sassnitz provided the backdrop for a new SailGP speed record when ROCKWOOL Denmark posted 103.93kph, surpassing the previous mark of 99.97kph held by France. The day also marked the first time any team had raced on the combination of the 18 metre wing and T-Foils.
The Black Foils had posted finishes of fifth, fourth, and tenth across the first three races before the final-race win pushed the New Zealand team into the top three heading into Sunday's racing.
Black Foils Co-CEO and Driver Peter Burling said it was nice to put together a more complete performance in the final race of the day and carry momentum into Sunday.
"The first three races it certainly felt like we battled in the middle of the pack. We did some things really well but were challenged by others. I think that's going to happen in these conditions. Certainly on the first three starts it was frustrating to not find a good path back through from what felt like good positions. Then on the last one I thought we might have overcooked it but worked out well with everyone else being late. The team did a really good job from there and showed good patience."
Burling added that the conditions made for a challenging day to move smoothly around the course.
"The conditions were super dynamic. I think Liv, Sam and the rest of the team were doing a great job to help get us into those lanes then Leo and Blair were doing a great job in sailing the boat fast enough to make the most of those positions when we got there. We haven't sailed in that configuration that much so it was great to see it back out there on the race course. It was great to throw the boats round and show what they can do. It was awesome fun racing."
SailGP also announced today a major three-season commitment to host the Germany Sail Grand Prix in August, cementing Sassnitz as returning to the championship's calendar on August 22-23, 2026 and then a further event in Germany August 21-22, 2027.
13,000 fans are expected to attend across the weekend at this year's event.
