ETF26 GP Campione del Garda

Thirty-five knots between the cliffs of Lake Garda: the stage is set

From 10 to 13 June 2026, the flying catamarans of the ETF26 class will grace — or rather, barely touch — the waters of Campione del Garda. Second stop of the ETF26 Series 2026 circuit after the Spanish opener, this Grand Prix promises to be the season's first true proving ground. On a lake capable of delivering 12 to 18 knots of thermal Ora every afternoon, Guillaume Verdier and Jean-Pierre Dick's machines will flirt with speeds of 35 knots. That's two and a half times the force of the wind propelling them.

The stakes are crystal clear:

• Confirm or upset the hierarchy established in 2025, dominated by K-Challenge Blue (European Champions) and Entreprises du Morbihan (overall series winners).
• Tame Lake Garda's thermal winds, where every morning Peler gust and every Ora shift demand millimetre-precise foil adjustments.
• Survive a brutal format: up to six races per day, sprint races of 15 to 20 minutes where a botched start is almost impossible to recover from.

Why Campione, why now

The Grand Prix slots in just before the Foiling Week in early July. No coincidence: it's the ideal moment to validate summer setups in conditions close to those at the heart of the season. The five events on the 2026 calendar — Mar Menor, Campione, Foiling Week, Lorient, Quiberon — leave no margin for error. Stumble at this second round and you've mortgaged the annual title before summer even begins.

The venue, managed by Campione Univela, is a world-class reference for high-performance sailing. Infrastructure calibrated for the complex logistics of foiling boats, direct access to a body of water framed by cliffs that shape wind corridors: hard to find a better full-scale laboratory.

Find the complete ETF26 Series calendar on spencer.club.

Lake Garda's legacy: where seasons are built

Lake Garda is not neutral territory for the ETF26 class. In 2025, it was at Riva del Garda that the EUROSAF European Championship was decided, won by K-Challenge Blue with 35 points, ahead of Entreprises du Morbihan (44 pts). Teams that shine here generally go on to dominate the rest of the circuit.

Case in point: Blueshift Sailing Team, winners of the 2025 finale at Mar Menor, built their consistency on technical race courses like this one. On Lake Garda, you don't win by accident. You win because you know how to read a lake.

Two winds, two faces, zero respite

The Peler — the muscular wake-up call

A northerly wind, strong and gusty, it blows early in the morning. Its short chop destabilizes the foils and puts crews' arms to the test. The day's opening races, sailed in the Peler, separate the technicians from the optimists.

The Ora — the afternoon engine

A southerly thermal wind, it sets in around 12-1 PM with clockwork regularity. Steady pressure between 12 and 18 knots: dream conditions for the ETF26s, which take flight at just 8 knots. Stable flights, maximum speeds, guaranteed spectacle.

Courses and manoeuvres

Races are sailed on Windward/Leeward (banana) or short coastal courses. Reaching starts favour immediate foiling take-offs. But the lake's enclosed geography traps the unwary: site effects, downdrafts along the cliffs, pressure corridors that only seasoned tacticians can exploit both upwind and downwind.

Sprint format: six races, zero jokers

The ETF26 Series sporting format doesn't mess around:

• 4 racing days (10 to 13 June)
• Up to 6 races per day, each completed in 15 to 20 minutes
• Low-point scoring: 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points, etc.
• Discard activated after 4 or 5 completed races — the weekend's only safety net

This format rewards absolute consistency. A crew that systematically finishes in the top 3 will crush one that alternates between victories and tenth places.

The ETF26 in numbers

A 26-foot one-design catamaran born from the collaboration between Jean-Pierre Dick and Guillaume Verdier (architect of Emirates Team New Zealand for the America's Cup), the ETF26 is a machine built to fly.

Its extreme lightness and ability to fly early make it particularly suited to Lake Garda's sometimes shifting conditions, where the wind can jump from 8 to 18 knots in minutes.

Teams to watch

The favourites

• K-Challenge Blue (France) — 2025 European Champions, backed by Orient Express Racing Team (America's Cup). World-class technical mastery and intimate knowledge of the Italian race course.
• Entreprises du Morbihan (France) — Top team in the 2025 overall standings (9 pts). Consistency personified: they podium even on difficult days.
• Blueshift Sailing Team (Belgium) — Winners of the 2025 final GP at Mar Menor, led by Charles Dorange. On the rise and clearly gunning for the French frontrunners.

Outsiders capable of striking

• Toroa Racing Team (Great Britain) — 4th at the 2025 European Championship, solid and capable of big moments.
• Geronimo Sailing Team (Italy) — The home team. Their intimate knowledge of Lake Garda's traps could make the difference on home waters.
• Sansin Sailing Team (Canada) — 6th in 2025, steadily improving, knocking on the door of the top 5.

Compare the boats entered and follow the results on spencer.club.

What's really at stake at Campione

Beyond the event trophy, three strategic dimensions weigh on every race:

The points battle. Just five events on the 2026 calendar. Each GP represents 20% of the title. A poor performance here and the season takes on a very different colour.

Technical validation. Winter is for optimizing foils and sails. Campione is the first real test in sustained wind to measure whether the upgrades work — or whether they've created new problems.

The commercial showcase. Lake Garda draws eyes from around the world. For operations like K-Challenge or Rockwool Racing, shining here means securing budgets for seasons to come.

Four days, up to twenty-four races, foils a metre above the water and cliffs as backdrop. First warning signal on 10 June.