Bonds FlyingRoos, the three-time SailGP champions from Australia, took the SailGP lead after a dominating weekend in Brazil. They won all four races on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.

Tom Slingsby led the Australian team in Guanabara Bay, in front of the Sugarloaf Mountain, from the start to the finish line, and even the final race against Spain's Los Gallos, and Sweden's Artemis.

The racetrack is a very challenging place to race in, with its geography. But it's still incredible. Tash Bryant, Australia's strategist, told reporters that today there was a great breeze. "We were able settle in and get into the groove each race."

The Bonds Flying Roos topped the standings, with 35 points. This is their second 'victory' of the year following their victory in New Zealand.

The defending champions Britain failed to make the final of the event in Rio for the first time since the start of the season. The Emirates GBR team, led by Dylan Fletcher finished 12th in Brazil. They now trail the leaders by seven points.

The United States, led in part by Taylor Canfield, won the previous stage in Sydney, in March. They finished fourth in Brazil and completed the top three of the overall standings, after four events.

"I believe this event would've done a great job for us on the leaderboard rankings." Bryant said that our closest competitors did not have the best event. "It was a great event for us. Hopefully we can continue to compete with them for the remainder of the season."

Brazil was the fourth event in the 2026 SailGP season after stops in Perth and Auckland. The Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix will be held in Bermuda on May 9-10. New York is next.

SailGP is a?international competition that features high-speed 'races' in identical F50 foiling catsamarans, capable of exceeding 60 mph (100 kph). The league pits teams from around the world against one another in a series regattas held at iconic locations.

The boats made their first ever visit to South America this weekend. Rio's event, scheduled for last May, was cancelled due to a defect found in the F50 wingsails.

After a wing of an Australian boat collapsed in San Francisco and prompted further testing, the issue was discovered.

The Brazilian boat was helmed, by two-time Olympic champion sailing Martine Grael, who won one gold medal in the same Rio waters last year. It had a difficult home debut, and finished 9th out of 12 competing teams. (Reporting and Editing by Christian Radnedge.)

(source: Reuters)