SailGP: Five things to watch in Portsmouth

The European leg for SailGP Season 5 begins for the 12 teams in Portsmouth, UK. From British team on home waters to the fleet’s lack of racing experience at the venue, here are five things to watch out for during the racing on July 19-20:

Can Spain make it three wins in a row?
It’s been an impressive season for Spain, which now sits at the top of the leaderboard after chalking up up back-to-back wins in San Francisco and New York. But can the team rise to the top of the fleet again, overcoming league frontrunners Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain when racing gets underway in the new venue of Portsmouth?

Will the British team perform on home waters?
With Dylan Fletcher behind the GBR wheel, the team started the season strong – with podium results in Dubai and Auckland and a win in Sydney. The team had a consistent fourth place finish in Los Angeles, but has struggled since then – with a 7th and 8th in San Francisco and New York respectively. Can they harness the home support and bounce back with another top three finish in Portsmouth?

The fleet’s lack of experience in Portsmouth
While the Brits may have the home support, they – like the rest of the fleet – have little experience racing in the new venue of Portsmouth. Despite this, the Solent’s conditions are familiar – with Fletcher noting the strong tides and unstable sea state. Will this lack of experience in Portsmouth level the fleet playing field? And which teams will rise to the challenge – and the top of the leaderboard – the quickest?

Could we see a new UK winner?
SailGP has raced in the UK just twice before – Cowes in Season 1 and Plymouth in Season 3. The first event was won by Australia while New Zealand triumphed in Plymouth. Could we see another new winner when the league returns to British waters this weekend?

Will Brazil deliver another promising performance?
New York was an historic event for Martine Grael’s team, which combined its first race win with consistent fleet racing results putting it within reach of its first ever event final. While the Brazilians just missed out, Portsmouth promises similar conditions to New York, with tricky tides and choppy waters. Could Grael’s team put in another promising performance?

The races will be held at 4:00-5:30pm BST (11:00am-12:30pm EDT). For each team’s crew roster, click here.

SailGP information – Portsmouth event – YouTube – Facebook

Season 5 Leaderboard (after 6 events)
1. Spain – Diego Botin, 46 points
2. Australia – Tom Slingsby, 45 points
3. New Zealand – Peter Burling, 44 points
4. Great Britain – Dylan Fletcher, 41 points
5. Canada – Giles Scott, 38 points
6. France – Quintin Delapierre, 36 points*
7. Switzerland – Sebastien Schneiter, 20 points
8. Denmark – Nicolai Sehested, 14 points**
9. Italy – Ruggero Tita, 13 points
10. Brazil – Martine Grael, 9 point**
11. Germany – Erik Heil, 0 points**
12. United States – Taylor Canfield, 0 points**
* France was awarded points for the first two events as their F50 was not available
**Teams receive season penalty points for incidents during practice or racing

Season 5 Schedule – 14 events *
2024
November 23-24 – Dubai, UAE

2025
January 18-19 – Auckland, New Zealand
February 8-9 – Sydney, Australia
March 15-16 – Los Angeles, USA
March 22-23 – San Francisco, USA
May 3-4 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 7-8 – New York City, USA
July 19-20 – Portsmouth, Great Britain
August 16-17 – Sassnitz, Germany
September 6-7 – Taranto, Italy
September 12-13 – Saint-Tropez, France
September 20-21 – Geneva, Switzerland
October 4-5 – Andalucía – Cádiz, Spain
November 7-8 – Middle East
November 29-30 – Grand Final – Abu Dhabi, UAE
* The season began with 14 events but Tranto was replaced with Saint-Tropez, while Rio and Middle East were cancelled though Rio may be rescheduled.

Format for Season 5:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• Five 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 prize purse (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had $400,000.00 USD prize purse with winning team 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 a monetary award (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had $2 million USD prize).
• The top team on points ahead of the three-boat Championship Final will get a monetary award (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had a $350,000.00 prize).
• The league currently maintains control ownership of the teams based in Denmark, New Zealand, and Spain, though it’s actively in the process of selling the Spanish team.

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.

Source: SailGP