New Zealand SailGP Team (Black Foils)

Peter Burling drives the New Zealand SailGP Team's F50 catamaran, known as the Black Foils. His resume is almost without parallel in modern sailing: Olympic gold in the 49er at Rio 2016, three America's Cup victories as helmsman of Emirates Team New Zealand (2017, 2021, 2024), and now a concurrent SailGP and America's Cup campaign with Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in AC38.

Burling's departure from Team New Zealand and his arrival at Luna Rossa is the defining personnel story of the 38th America's Cup cycle. In SailGP, the New Zealand team benefits from Burling's tactical genius and his deep understanding of foiling dynamics, but his split attention between SailGP and the America's Cup means he may miss some events or arrive at others with less preparation time.

The Black Foils name echoes the All Blacks, and the team's Kiwi identity is central to its brand. New Zealand, a country of five million people, produces sailing talent at a rate that defies its size. The sailing culture that runs from school dinghies to the America's Cup creates a depth of expertise that the SailGP team draws from.

Auckland's Waitemata Harbour, where the Black Foils race in the New Zealand leg of the SailGP season, is one of the most significant sailing venues in the world. Burling racing at home, with the harbour where he won 3 America's Cups as his backdrop, creates a narrative that transcends the SailGP standings.

New Zealand has won more America's Cup titles per capita than any other country, and the Black Foils team extends that tradition into the SailGP circuit. For a nation of 5 million, the depth of world-class foiling talent available to the team reflects an extraordinary concentration of sailing excellence.