Nathan Outteridge back on SailGP wheel

Two-time Olympic medalist Nathan Outteridge has been appointed as the Switzerland SailGP Team driver for the final five events of Season 4. His first test will be March 23-24 at the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Christchurch.

The Australian initially had success leading the Japan SailGP Team, finishing runner-up in the first two seasons, but a funding failure removed the team from the league. More recently, Outteridge had been supporting the Swiss over the past 18-months in a number of roles, from sailing advisor and coach, to co-driver and strategist.

Outteridge will be replacing Sebastien Schneiter who needs the time to focus on his Paris 2024 Olympic campaign. For the past two SailGP events, Outteridge has already been back at the wheel as the stand-in driver for Denmark and New Zealand. He is also with Team New Zealand in their effort to defend the America’s Cup.

Schneiter will compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, his third campaign in the 49er class. After a podium in the Olympic Test Event and a vice-World Champion title in 2023, Schneiter is tipped as being one of the top contenders for an Olympic medal this summer.

Switzerland has not won a sailing medal at the Summer Olympics since 1968 – a silver medal. Schneiter will be back on the racecourse next month with events in Palma and Hyeres followed by the 2024 49er European Championship (May). He will continue supporting Swiss SailGP Team remotely and be back driving at the start of Season 5, at the end of the year.

The Swiss first started competing in SailGP’s global league in May 2022 for Season 3 but has mostly struggled, and is currently last in the Season 4 standings.

“It was a tough decision to make but I believe that it’s the best decision for the team and for my goal of winning an Olympic medal for Switzerland,” explained Schneiter. “For the past 10 years I’ve been working towards this moment and this summer, with the Olympics in Marseille, I feel that I have a realistic chance to achieve this.

“The team will be in really good hands with Nathan behind the wheel and helping to develop the team! I’ll still be following closely and be ready to jump back in at the start of Season 5 later this year.”

Outteridge added, “When Seba called me and asked me to take over as the Switzerland driver, I had to say yes. It’s an honor to be asked and it’s been a real pleasure working with the team for the past 18 months. I’ve learned a lot from my different roles and now understand so much more about the F50, other than only being behind the wheel and driving it.

“I’ve been without a drive in SailGP for the last couple of seasons, since driving for the Japan SailGP Team. I have pretty high expectations of myself and what I’d like to get out in terms of results for the remainder of Season 4, and those expectations will hopefully flow across the whole team.”

SailGP information – Christchurch details– YouTube – How to watch

Season Standings (after eight of 13 events; results and total points)
1. Australia (Tom Slingsby), 2-3-2-2-3-2-7-1; 66 points
2. New Zealand (Peter Burling), 1-7-8-DNC/6-4-1-1-3; 58
3. Denmark (Nicolai Sehested), 4-2-4-7-2-6-9-2; 52
4. Spain (Diego Botin), 5-1-3-6-6-10-2-5; 48
5. France (Quintin Delapierre), 6-8-6-4-7-4-4-4; 45
6. Great Britain (Ben Ainslie/Giles Scott), 7-6-1-1-8-5-8-7; 45
7. United States (Jimmy Spithill/Taylor Canfield), 9-5-5-3-1-8-3-9; 45
8. Canada (Phil Robertson), 3-4-10-5-5-3-6-10; 37
9. Germany (Erik Heil), 10-10-7-8-9-10-9-5-6; 21
10. Switzerland (Sebastien Schneiter), 8-9-9-9-7-10-8; 17

Scoring adjustments:
• Canada SailGP Team: Docked four points in Season Championship for eight-point penalty at France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
• Germany SailGP Team: Docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix
• Spain SailGP Team: Docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía – Cádiz
• Switzerland SailGP Team: Docked four points in Season Championship for eight-point penalty at Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council
• New Zealand SailGP Team: Granted six event points for ROCKWOOL Italy Sail Grand Prix | Taranto as unable to compete due to wing damage suffered at France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez

Season 4 – 2023
June 16-17 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier
July 22-23 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Los Angeles
September 9-10 – France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 23-24 – Italy Sail Grand Prix | Taranto
October 14-15 – Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía- Cádiz
December 9-10 – Dubai Sail Grand Prix | Dubai*

Season 4 – 2024
January 13-14 – Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix | Abu Dhabi
February 24-25 – Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney
March 23-24 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland
March 23-24 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch
May 4-5 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix
June 1-2 – Canada Sail Grand Prix | Halifax
June 22-23 – United States Sail Grand Prix | New York
July 13-14 – SailGP Season 4 Grand Final | San Francisco
* Added October 3, 2023

Format for Season 4:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• Up to seven qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes may be scheduled for each regatta.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the $300,000.00 USD event prize money purse (increases to $400k for Abu Dhabi with the winning team now earning $200k at each event).
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing with the winner claiming the $2 million USD prize.
• The top team on points ahead of the three-boat Championship Final will be awarded $350,000.00.

For competition documents, click here.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing among national teams in some of the iconic harbors around the globe.