ABU DHABI, 29th November, 2025 (WAM) -- ROCKWOOL Denmark was the top performer in a testing Day 1 in SailGP Abu Dhabi. It topped the event leaderboard after the first four fleet races of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix 2025 Season Grand Final, presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
Ahead of today's racing, the pressure was on the top four teams in Season 5 to qualify for the $2million winner take-all Grand Final. The racing was conducted at pedestrian speed - for the 100km/h F50's. The speed record for the day was set at 31.14km/h by the German team with most of the racing being done in the 10-20kmh speed band.
All teams adopted the fleet's new 27.5 meter wingsail for the first time, alongside light-air foils and rudders to make the most of the 7-10 km/h breeze.
While the top teams struggled, crews on the rise emerged - keeping hopes alive that Abu Dhabi could provide another first-time event winner. ROCKWOOL Racing were the in-form team of the day, finishing on the podium in all four fleet races (two wins, a second and third). The Danish crew has 37 points on the event leaderboard - plenty of buffer ahead of Mubadala Brazil in second and Red Bull Italy in third, tied on points (22 each).
All 12 international teams hit the water again tomorrow for two more qualifying fleet races after which an event winner will be crowned, overall season standings tallied and the top three teams will advance to the winner-takes-all Grand Final race. Three can race but only one can be crowned the 2025 Season Rolex SailGP Champion.
US $3.2 million is up for grabs across the weekend - $800K for the event winners (split among the podium), $400K for the highest-ranked team on season points, and $2 million for overall winner - this season's Rolex SailGP Champions.
Staged at Zayed Port, the event brings together 12 teams competing on high-performance F50 foiling catamarans capable of reaching speeds of over 100 km/h. Abu Dhabi serves as the twelfth and concluding stop of the championship's fifth season, following earlier rounds in Dubai, Auckland, Sydney, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Portsmouth, Sassnitz, Saint-Tropez, Geneva and Cadiz.
