New look for Great Britain SailGP Team

The Great Britain SailGP Team, presented by INEOS, has revealed its full team line-up ahead of the SailGP Season 2 opener in Sydney on February 28-29. The crew has been revamped from last season as five of the six members are part of INEOS TEAM UK’s America’s Cup challenge.

The world’s most successful Olympic sailor, Ben Ainslie, will helm the F50 while fellow Olympic gold medallist Iain Jensen joins as wing trimmer and the flight controller role is filled by Luke Parkinson. Both Jensen and Parkinson have moved over to the Great Britain SailGP Team to join their America’s Cup teammates after competing with Japan in SailGP Season 1.

Completing the line-up in the grinder roles are Matt Gotrel, an Olympic gold medal winning rower, and Neil Hunter – both of whom sailed together with the British SailGP Team last year and are also part of the British America’s Cup challenge. They are joined by fellow returning teammate Richard Mason.

“We are looking forward to getting out on the water and competing in a highly charged racing environment against some really tough competition,” Ainslie. “We can’t wait to get going. The squad is a combination of sailors from last year and members of the wider INEOS TEAM UK America’s Cup team. Each sailor has raced these boats before, and we know each other well. It’s now about putting that knowledge and experience together.”

Iain Jensen, known as ‘Goobs’, has competed at two Olympic Games and in two America’s Cup campaigns and brings a significant amount of knowledge and experience to the British team. Commenting on the new modular wing due to be rolled out at event two in San Francisco, he said: “To have the ability to sail in more wind strengths and push these boats harder to is going to be a game changer.”

Helping to control the F50 from the ‘cock-pit’ is flight controller Luke Parkinson (known as ‘Parko’) who has competed in both the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, including winning the 2014-15 edition with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. Parkinson will control the main system on the F50 which alters the rudders and foils.

Neil Hunter, who at 24 is the youngest member of the team, was the youngest sailor to compete in the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda in 2017, where he was also part of the British team that won the Youth America’s Cup. Known as one of sailing’s fittest grinders, he now looks forward to his second consecutive SailGP season with the Great Britain SailGP Team.

Alongside Hunter in the grinder roles are returning Great Britain SailGP Team members Matt Gotrel and Rich Mason.

Gotrel came back to sailing two years ago after crossing over to rowing during his university years which culminated in winning Olympic gold for Team GB at Rio 2016. Mason is a highly experienced professional sailor who has competed in various catamaran classes including the M32 Series, GC32 Racing Tour and the Extreme Sailing Series. His biggest achievement to date, however, was on one hull when he completed the gruelling, single-handed Solitaire du Figaro race.

Team CEO Chris Draper meanwhile steps off the F50 to focus on running the team from dry land. “We can’t wait to get back out racing after a long break following the final in Marseille last year,” notes Draper. “Sydney is a fantastic venue and we’ve come such a long way since this time last year. With the combined experience these athletes have, we’re feeling excited about the year ahead. The team is just planning to get out there and put everything we learnt in Season 1 into practice.”

Great Britain will take on six other nations including reigning champions Australia, Denmark, France, Japan, Spain, and the United States when the season gets underway in Sydney.

Great Britain SailGP Team:

Name | Position | Nationality | Age
Ben Ainslie | Helmsman | GBR | 42
Luke Parkinson | Flight Controller | GBR/AUS | 28
Iain Jensen | Wing Trimmer | AUS | 31
Matt Gotrel | Grinder | GBR | 30
Neil Hunter | Grinder | GBR | 24
Richard Mason | Grinder | GBR | 31

L-R: Iain Jensen, Richard Mason, Ben Ainslie, Luke Parkinson, Neil Hunter, Matt Gotrel

2020 Teams
Australia, Tom Slingsby
Denmark, Nicolai Sehested
France, Billy Besson
Great Britain, Ben Ainslie
Japan, Nathan Outteridge
Spain, Jordi Xammar/ Phil Robertson*
United States, Rome Kirby
* Xammar will helm with Season 1 skipper Phil Robertson (NZL) serving in an interim capacity. Details.

2020 Schedule**
Sydney, AUS(February 28-29)
San Francisco, USA (May 2-3)
New York, USA (June 12-13)
Cowes, GBR (August 14-15)
Copenhagen, DEN (September 11-12)
** A sixth event may be added to the calendar at a later date.

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.

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.

Source: INEOS TEAM UK