Rough ending for U.S. SailGP Team

Marseille, France (September 22, 2019) – In a season of highs and lows, the United States SailGP Team, the youngest team in the SailGP Championship, fell hard as the inaugural season came to a close today at Marseille SailGP.

“A lot of things didn’t go our way here in Marseille but I’m not going to make excuses; we have plenty of work to do in the off season,” noted Helmsman Rome Kirby (above).

The team came to Marseille in third on the overall leaderboard, but breakdowns and poor sailing landed Kirby’s squad in last for the event and the season.

“I’m so proud of the team and how far we’ve come. Our experience relative to the other SailGP teams is substantially less, but it’s impressive in our first season to come in and start competing; we led many of the races and were right in the mix,” Kirby said.

“I’m aiming that our younger age becomes a point of strength. A lot of work will take place in the off season to figure out how to put the rest of the pieces together so that we are top of that podium.”

As attention shifts towards Season 2, the team plans to hit the ground running immediately upon its return to the States with additional details regarding their development plans to be announced soon.

Top on the list will be maximizing simulator time and taking advantage of any potential training opportunities over the next five months ahead of SailGP’s Season 2 Opener in Sydney, Australia on February 28-29.

In addition, Kirby will be working closely with team coaches and data analysts to sift through thousands of Season 1 data points and hours of video to analyze how best to build upon the many positives coming out of this year.

“Our learning curve this year has been steep but I’m so proud of everyone’s hard work this season. One of the best parts is that I get to sail and work with this group; it’s an awesome team and we have learned a ton.”

Final Marseille Results:
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby, 2-1-2-1-2-2-DNS, 56
2. Japan, Nathan Outteridge, 1-4-1-2-3-1-DNS, 54
3. China, Phil Robertson, 5-3-5-3-1-4-2, 54
4. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher, 3-2-3-6-4-6-4, 49
5. France, Billy Besson, 4-5-4-4-6-3-1, 50
6. United States, Rome Kirby, 6-6-6-5-5-5-3, 41

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

ABOUT SAILGP:
Established in 2018 and headquartered in London and San Francisco, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric, inshore racing in some of the iconic harbors around the globe and culminates with a $1 million winner-takes-all match race. Rival national teams from Australia, China, France, Great Britain, Japan, and the United States battle it out in identical wing-powered, foiling F50 catamarans, engineered to exceed 50 knots.

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)

Source: United States SailGP, Scuttlebutt