China out for SailGP 2020

The SailGP global sports circuit hit a snag as one of the six league-funded teams for its inaugural season, the Phil Robertson led China SailGP Team, won’t be continuing for the second year.

After closing strong in the 2019 season to finish third overall, the F50 catamaran used by China will transfer to Spain for the 2020 season.

“Though the China SailGP Team had a successful first season, we were unfortunately not granted the permissions necessary to continue operating the team within our existing structure,” explains SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts.

“With numerous active discussions around future teams, we were fortunate to be in the position to make an immediate substitution, allowing us to deliver on our promise of seven teams for Season 2 as our global championship continues to grow.”

Spain will join Australia, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan, and the United States as the league visits six venues across the globe in 2020.

The lineup for the Spain SailGP Team will be announced in Madrid in late January following training in New Zealand.

Season 1 – 2019 Schedule
Sydney, Australia (February 15-16)
San Francisco, USA (May 4-5)
New York, USA (June 21-22)
Cowes, UK (August 10-11)
Marseille, France (September 20-22)

SailGP Season 1 Overall Leaderboard
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby, 229
2. Japan, Nathan Outteridge, 223
3. China, Phil Robertson, 171
4. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher, 169
5. France, Billy Besson, 164
6. United States, Rome Kirby, 163

Note: Total points based on SailGP scoring.

SailGP details – Team rosters – Results – Where to watch – Facebook

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing in some of the iconic harbors around the globe. Rival national teams compete in identical F50 catamarans with the season culminating with a $1 million winner-takes-all match race.

2020 Schedule*
Sydney, Australia (February 28-29)
San Francisco, USA (May 2-3)
New York, USA (June 12-13)
Cowes, UK (August 14-15)
* Additional dates by January 2020

Source: SailGP