Big picture outlook for US SailGP Team

While the overall results didn’t reflect it, Jimmy Spithill and the United States SailGP Team are pleased with the progress made at the United States SailGP Team’s Season 3 opener at the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess on May 14-15, 2022.

“The weekend was really productive, and while our fifth place overall result isn’t ideal, we moved the needle in the right direction, which was absolutely our goal,” said Spithill, CEO and Driver.

U.S. SailGP Team Tactician Andrew Campbell added, “We approached Bermuda as a longer term play. We know we left a lot on the table, but finishing race five with a second-place finish is a great indicator of this weekend’s success.

“We are already a lot better off than we were after San Francisco (Season 2 finale in March 2022), and certainly better off than we were here in Bermuda after last season’s event-ending crash and capsize.”

Throughout the advance training and racing on the Great Sound, the team focused on updating the Season 3 playbook. In addition to integrating new athletes into the mix with US Sailing team members Hans Henken as flight controller and Luke Muller as grinder, training as backups for Rome Kirby and Andrew Campbell respectively, the team spent serious time adding responsibilities to the sixth sailor position.

“The ability to now have CJ Perez drive out of certain maneuvers, in addition to being more active on controls such as rudder rake and flight controller support, not to mention her insights on race course management, is a huge asset for the team,” Campbell said.

The global championship now looks towards its next event on June 18-19 in Chicago, IL with racing held directly off Navy Pier along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Final Standings*
1. Australia
2. Great Britain
3. Canada
4. Denmark
5. United States
6. New Zealand
7. Spain
8. France
9. Switzerland
*The Japan SailGP Team will sit out the first events of the season due to a series of external factors resulting in only nine F50s being available for the start of Season 3.

SailGP information – Bermuda details – Season 3 scoreboard – Facebook

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 18-19, 2022 – ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix | Copenhagen
September 9-10, 2022 – France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 23-24, 2022 – Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía – Cádiz
November 11-12, 2022 – Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas
January 14-15, 2023 – Singapore Sail Grand Prix
March 17-18, 2023 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch
May 6-7, 2023 – United States Sail Grand Prix | San Francisco (Season 3 Grand Final)
*One further event is expected to be announced to complete SailGP Season 3.

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

Format for 2022-23 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 and earn the largest share of the $300,000 prize money to be split among the top three teams.
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race – a winner-takes-all match race for the $1m prize.

For competition documents, click here.

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 for event prize money as the season culminates with a $1 million winner-takes-all match race.

Source: US SailGP