TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2026 – LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Racing on the Edge, SailGP’s award-winning docuseries produced in partnership with Rolex, is back for the 2026 Season.
This time, it goes beyond the racetrack, delving deep into the minds of the sport’s top athletes, tracing the invisible currents that define performance in the world’s pinnacle sail racing competition.
The 2026 Season is the most character-driven Racing on the Edge ever produced, taking viewers even further behind the scenes as established and emerging stars navigate pressure, expectation, and the pursuit of greatness at speeds exceeding 100 km/h.
This season opens with the Black Foils (New Zealand). Three-time America’s Cup winner Peter Burling and triple-Olympic medallist Blair Tuke’s team arrive at the 2026 Season opener – the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix, presented by KPMG – carrying the weight of unfulfilled aspirations, marked by the scars of a previous Grand Final defeat.
Central to the story is Leo Takahashi, at 27, the youngest flight controller competing in the Rolex SailGP Championship. Takahashi’s role is pivotal, responsible for flying the F50 at the absolute limit of speed and control, requiring precision, composure, and skill in equal measure.
Takahashi’s selection by Burling and Tuke is significant. “When I was growing up, sailing as a kid, I would watch Blair and Pete winning gold medals on TV,” said Takahashi. “So it’s pretty cool to be, somehow, under their wing. Blair is definitely the type of leader and person that I look up to.”
For Burling, bringing Takahashi into the team was an obvious choice: “Leo is a massive talent. For us, it was great to get a slightly younger talent into the team to bring fresh energy and a fresh approach, and he’s taking it on,” Burling stated.
However, the Black Foils’ debut in Perth did not go as planned. A collision with the Swiss team resulted in a 12-point penalty for New Zealand, effectively ending their debut before it began.
The team began to find their footing in Auckland, but a dramatic collision with DS Automobiles SailGP Team France sent shockwaves through the fleet, closing the episode with central questions about the Black Foils, Leo, and the team’s immediate future in SailGP.
Since its debut in 2021, Racing on the Edge has amassed more than 10 million viewers across 40-plus episodes. In 2025, over 200,000 hours were watched, equivalent to more than 24.7 years of content viewed in a single year.
The Rolex SailGP Championship heads next to Bermuda, with the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix taking place on May 9-10 at the iconic Great Sound. Limited tickets remain, available at SailGP.com/Bermuda.
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