Final field confirmed at U.S. SailGP

San Francisco, CA (March 26, 2022) – The line-up for the Season 2 Championship Final Race was eventually determined this afternoon – following a season-long contest – on San Francisco Bay.

A strong performance from Nathan Outteridge’s Japan team saw it book its place in tomorrow’s three-way battle for $1 million, against Tom Slingsby’s Australia team and home favorites, Jimmy Spithill’s United States SailGP Team.

On a day of mixed fortunes for many teams on the bay, Outteridge’s Japan team managed a top three finish in two of the three races, to sit alongside Australia at the top of the event leaderboard after day one of the Mubadala United States Sail Grand Prix.

Racing on home waters, Spithill’s U.S. team looks to have work ahead of it to challenge for the Season Championship, as it finished no higher than fifth across the three races held today.

But the headline from the day was Outteridge and his Japan team finally securing a spot in the SailGP Season 2 Grand Final for the second straight season.

“We did a great job today, Tom was out there sailing well today, but tomorrow’s a different story,” said Outteridge. “I’m sure Jimmy will come back strong; we’ve just got to get through those two races tomorrow, that will be the number one goal, to try and win the San Francisco event and then back it up with the overall season victory.”

The format for the San Francisco event is adjusted to both recognize the event winner alongside the season champion.

The three fleet races today and two tomorrow will determine the San Francisco event results, with that ranking then to be included in the season scoring to advance the top three teams for the final race where the overall Season 2 champion will be crowned and take home the $1 million prize purse.

As the three title rivals dissected each other’s performances, Slingsby expressed surprise at Spithill’s disappointing day one results.

“I’ve heard on the grapevine that the U.S. team is trying new things, but if I was them I would cancel those plans and get back to what they know, because they didn’t look too good,” observed Slingsby.

Spithill admitted his team had experimented with some new strategies but his focus remains fixed on tomorrow’s racing.

“We made a lot of mistakes out there to be honest, but for us the focus is that we take the lessons from today,” noted Spithill.

“All that counts is tomorrow, and the only race that matters is the last one. We need to protect the asset in the first two races and make sure the F50 is in one piece for that last race, and then put the throttle down.”

Another standout from the day was the Spanish team which is being led for the first time by new driver Jordi Xammar. The team scored two top-three finishes while racing for the first time this season as an all Spanish team.

“It was just amazing, as we hit the start line I was sitting there thinking wow what the hell am I doing here?” admitted Xammar. “Then I said to myself, ‘Jordi, stay calm, trust the guys.’ It’s just amazing to finish two races in the top three in our first event together like this. What the team did today with a rookie driver was incredible.”

Great Britain started the day brightly with Sir Ben Ainslie claiming a win in race one, before Nicolai Sehested’s Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL held off a fast-finishing Japan team to win race two – it’s second race win of the season. Japan kept its strong momentum heading into tomorrow going with a win in the day’s final race.

Alongside the SailGP Season 2 Champion, for the first time ever, a second podium will take place to crown the Impact League winner – the league’s second podium for the planet. A live audit is taking place during the USA event with the final winner crowned alongside the season winner.

SailGP’s Impact League is a world-first, integrated initiative to make sustainability essential to the fabric of the sport and accelerate the transition to clean energy.

Day One Results
1. Japan, 6-2-1, 18 points
2. Australia, 2-4-3, 18 points
3. Great Britain, 1-6-4, 16 points
4. Denmark, 4-1-6, 16 points
5. Spain, 8-3-2, 14 points
6. New Zealand, 3-5-8, 11 points
7. United States, 5-7-5, 10 points
8. France, 7-8-7, 5 points

SailGP information – San Francisco details – Facebook

How to watch – Results – Noticeboard – SailGP Insights

SailGP Season Championship (after 7 events)
1. Australia, 55 pts
2. United States, 53 pts
3. Japan, 51 pts
4. Spain, 43 pts
5. New Zealand, 42 pts
6. Great Britain, 41 pts
7. Denmark, 38 pts
8. France, 35 pts

Format for 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.
• Race scoring provides 8 points for first, 7 points for second, etc.
• The final race in each event 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 for the top three teams from the season ranking for a winner-takes-all match race for the $1m prize.

SailGP Season 2 Schedule*
April 24-25, 2021 – Bermuda Grand Prix
June 5-6, 2021 – Italy Grand Prix – Taranto
July 17-18, 2021 – Great Britain Grand Prix – Plymouth
August 20-21, 2021 – ROCKWOOL Denmark Grand Prix – Aarhus
September 11-12, 2021 – France Grand Prix – Saint-Tropez
October 9-10, 2021 – Spain Grand Prix – Andalusia
December 17-18, 2021 – Australia Grand Prix – Sydney
January 29-30, 2022 – New Zealand Grand Prix – Christchurch (CANCELLED)
March 26-27, 2022 – United States Grand Prix – San Francisco (Season 2 Grand Final)
*Subject to change

2021-22 Teams, Helm
Australia, Tom Slingsby
Denmark, Nicolai Sehested
France, Quentin Delapierre
Great Britain, Ben Ainslie (alternate – Paul Goodison)
Japan, Nathan Outteridge
New Zealand, Peter Burling (alternate – Arnaud Psarofaghis)
Spain, Jordi Xammar (alternate – Phil Robertson)
United States, Jimmy Spithill

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 race.

Source: SailGP