In this sport, you can create your own chances, Los Gallos' Botin says

Dubai: From the soaring high of winning SailGP’s Season 4 to being one of four teams which can make the 2025 Season Grand Final, the last 18 months have been a rollercoaster for Los Gallos.

Driver Diego Botín knows what it takes to win on the world stage - and 2024 was proof of that. After steering Spanish outfit Los Gallos to a stunning Rolex SailGP Championship win in a thrilling climax to Season 4, Botín and teammate Florian Trittel then took men’s skiff gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Fast forward 18 months, and the Santander sailor continues to set the pace on the Olympic circuit while simultaneously preparing to defend his team’s SailGP title.

“It’s been a really busy period,” Botín says, reflecting on a European leg that ended with their home SailGP event in Cadiz, quickly followed by a world title in the Olympic 49er class. “It’s good to finally have some time off and prepare properly for Abu Dhabi.”

Abu Dhabi is the big one; where SailGP’s 2025 Season showdown will take place on November 29 and 30. For Botín and Los Gallos, the stakes couldn’t be any higher.

Los Gallos’ home event last month was a mixed bag - flashes of brilliance capped by a race win in front of tens of thousands of roaring fans, but not the overall result they’d hoped for.

“We’re not super happy with our performance in Cadiz,” admits Botín. “We would have liked to do way better, but we’ve taken some big learnings from it. Those high-pressure situations, where you really want to perform and things don’t go your way - that’s when you learn the most.”

Standout moment

Despite the frustration, the team’s race win in front of a home crowd remains one of the standout moments of the season. “That was epic,” Botín says with a grin. “The fight with the Kiwis and Aussies was amazing - two of the teams we’re battling with for a Final spot - and then hearing the crowd go wild when we crossed the line... it was incredible. You can really feel the people pushing for you.”

Heading into the final event of the season Los Gallos sit fourth overall, just outside the Championship Final positions. Their task is clear: outperform the top three teams - Emirates GBR, New Zealand’s Black Foils and Australia’s BONDS Flying Roos - and hope the points fall their way.

“Our mathematical chances are quite low,” Botín concedes, “but in this sport, you can create your own chances. We’re exploring every way possible to maximize them.”

Los Gallos have built a reputation as a team that punches above their weight when the pressure’s on. Their record in SailGP Finals this season - winning two of the three - is the best in the league, a fact that hasn’t gone unnoticed by their rivals. “We feel quite good in Finals,” Botín says. “I don’t know exactly why, but somehow when we’re in that position, we’re super strong. The key for us is to be more consistent so we can make more of them.”

Tricky conditions

Abu Dhabi’s tight, inshore racecourse is expected to deliver light and tricky conditions, something Botín believes could play to Spain’s advantage.

“The light winds create more opportunities,” he says. “The start is critical because the fleet is huge and the wind shadows make it hard to come back. The crazier it gets, the better for us.”

Los Gallos are also the only team to have tested SailGP’s new 27.5m wing, which could prove decisive if conditions turn light. “It could be an advantage,” Botín acknowledges. “If no one else sails it before the first race, that’s when it really counts. We’ve felt it already, we know how it behaves.”

Looking across the fleet, Botín says SailGP has never been more competitive - and that’s reflected in the calibre of the sailors. “The four teams fighting for the Championship Grand Final are all led by Olympic gold medallists,” he notes.

“That says everything about the level of this league. SailGP has become the best arena for the best sailors in the world. The Olympics are like the university of sailing. If you do well there it’s very likely you’ll be capable in other disciplines, and that’s what we’re seeing in SailGP.”

Super tough

For all his success, Botín is quick to downplay the glamour of winning. “Of course, it helps the team commercially and it gives you motivation,” he says, “but we try to keep working the same way. The secret to success is small steps forward that add up over time. Winning is great, but it can also be dangerous if it makes you relax. You have to keep growing.”

And as for predictions? Botín smiles, shaking his head. “I’m a bit superstitious, so I prefer not to talk about us,” he laughs. “But between the Brits, the Kiwis and the Aussies… it’s super tough to say. The Kiwis have an incredible winning record, but in SailGP anything can happen.”

For a team built on fighting spirit, that uncertainty might just be the opening Los Gallos need. “We know what it takes to win,” Botín says. “Now we just need to get there.”