Swiss SailGP team builds from outside

The Switzerland SailGP Team will make its debut in the third season of SailGP with an international crew to accelerate the team’s progression and development in the league. While the team has been building a young group from the ground-up, joining the crew for the 2022-23 schedule is Olympic gold and silver medalist Stuart Bithell (GBR) and fellow two-time Olympian Jason Saunders (NZL).

“It’s been five months since we first launched the Switzerland SailGP Team and our focus has been on building the team and recruiting the right people, in the right positions, to set us up for the best success when we enter the championship for the first time,” said Switzerland SailGP Team CEO, Tanguy Cariou.

“Our goal has always been to create a competitive team, but we know it takes a lot to be at the front with the best in this global league. So first, we need to learn how to sail and race the F50.

“We have brought onboard two athletes who have prior SailGP racing experience with Olympic backgrounds and achievements, in the roles of wing trimmer and flight controller, to help us fast track these learnings. It will make for a good and complementary crew line up on the racecourse.”

At 26, Sébastien Schneiter – from Geneva – will be the youngest ever driver to take part in SailGP. Strengthening his SailGP team for Season 3 is Bithell and Saunders.

Until late, Schneiter and Bithell were training partners – and rivals – in the high-performance Olympic 49er class. Schneiter has represented Switzerland twice at consecutive Olympic Games, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020; where Bithell claimed his second Olympic medal – gold.

Saunders is also a double-Olympian, competing in the 470 class at London 2012 and the Nacra in Rio 2016. Saunders raced alongside Schneiter in the 2021 GC32 World Championship where they finished on the podium. The trio recently competed together for the first time, winning the Bacardi 69F Cup in Miami.

2022-23 SailGP Season 3 Schedule*
May 14-15, 2022 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess
June 18-19, 2022 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier
July 30-31, 2022 – Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Plymouth
August 19-20, 2022 – ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix | Copenhagen
September 10-11, 2022 – France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 24-25, 2022 – Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía – Cádiz
November 12-13, 2022 – Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas
TBD, 2023 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch

*Further events will be announced to complete Season 3, which will conclude April 2023 and is expected to comprise ten events.

2022-23 Teams, Helm
Australia, Tom Slingsby
Canada, TBA
Denmark, Nicolai Sehested
France, Quentin Delapierre
Great Britain, Ben Ainslie
Japan, Nathan Outteridge
New Zealand, Peter Burling
Spain, Jordi Xammar/ Phil Robertson
Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter
United States, Jimmy Spithill

SailGP information – Results – Facebook

Format for 2021-22 SailGP events:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• There are three races on each day, totaling six races at each event.
• The opening five fleet races involve every team.
• The final match race pits the three highest ranking teams against each other to be crowned event champion.
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race – a winner-takes-all match race for the $1m prize.

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.

Source: SailGP