SailGP: Five things to watch in Sassnitz

SailGP’s F50s return to competition on August 22-23 in Sassnitz, Germany. Here’s what fans need to know before racing gets underway on the Baltic Sea:

The championship race is tightening
Tom Slingsby’s Bonds Flying Roos (AUS) head into Sassnitz on top of the overall leaderboard on 66 points, but Diego Botin’s Los Gallos (ESP) are closing fast. Back-to-back wins in Halifax and Portsmouth have pulled the Spanish outfit to within 12 points of the summit, and they now sit alone in second.

Artemis (SWE) have also broken into the top three for the first time this season, adding another team to the mix at the sharp end. It’s reigning champions Emirates GBR who have the most work to do – a poor showing in Portsmouth dropped them to fifth, 22 points off the lead, and they’ll need a big result in Sassnitz to keep their title defense alive.

Home pressure on the Germany SailGP Team
Erik Kosegarten-Heil’s crew arrive with the weight of a home crowd behind them, and the driver knows exactly what that means. A wing-trimmer change at the start of the season – bringing in French athlete Kevin Péponnet – has taken time to click, and starts have been the team’s main sticking point as they adapt to higher closing speeds under the new split-fleet qualifying. But Kosegarten-Heil says the rest of the boat’s performance has come on significantly since last year, with the results yet to fully reflect it.

None of that dampens his appetite for a big occasion. “I like a bit more pressure,” he says of racing under scrutiny – and there’s no bigger stage for that than a home event. The reception in Sassnitz last year left a real mark on him, with messages still arriving from fans planning the trip back. Worth noting too: Heil and his wife Louisa are expecting their first child in October, adding extra emotional weight to a season already carrying plenty.

The fastest racecourse in the world
Sassnitz’s SailGP debut in 2025 produced one of the fastest moments in the sport’s history: ROCKWOOL Denmark, helmed by Nicolai Sehested, clocked 103.93 km/h – still the outright speed record for an F50. The Baltic Sea venue, framed by Sassnitz’s chalk cliffs, is known for punchy, shifty conditions that reward bold sailing. SailGP weather guru Chris Bedford is warning fans not to be surprised if that record comes under threat again this weekend.

DS Automobiles France return to the scene of a famous win
DS Team France arrive back in Sassnitz with good memories. Quentin Delapierre’s crew claimed a fairytale victory at last year’s event – their first event win since Season 3 – in one of the most dramatic storylines of the season, battling back from a practice-day crash that sent Delapierre to hospital just 48 hours before racing began. With the team back at full strength, there’s a strong “return to winning waters” narrative on offer heading into this weekend.

Remember “Crashnitz”?
Sassnitz’s first SailGP event in 2025 earned itself a nickname for good reason. Mubadala Brazil were eliminated during training when their beam and then wing sail broke, while DS Team France’s rudder failure in a high-speed crash sent Delapierre to hospital before his crew fought back to win the event outright. Emirates GBR were also caught up in a starboard-right-of-way incident with the USA that tore a hole in their hull, forcing an overnight repair scramble to make it to Race Day 2. A year on, fans will be watching to see whether Sassnitz’s reputation as one of the fleet’s most unforgiving venues holds up again – or whether “Crashnitz” stays a 2025 Season story.

• Race times both days: 2:00pm-3:30pm CEST (08:00am-9:30am EDT)
• Crew list: https://sailgp.com/news/26/revealed-full-crew-lists-rockwool-germany-sail-grand-prix-sassnitz/
• Fleet splits: https://sailgp.com/news/26/group-splits-announced-rockwool-germany-sail-grand-prix/

SURVEY: As the fleet continues to grow, the SailGP league is seeking fan feedback for the 2027 racing format. To take their survey, click here.

SailGP information – Sassnitz details – How to watch

Season 6 Results (after 8 of 13 events)
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby (AUS), 2-1-5-1-1-1-4-7, 66 points
2. Spain, Diego Botin (ESP), 12-3-3-2-2-12-1-1, 54
3. Sweden, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), 4-5-9-3-11-5-2-2, 47
4. United States, Taylor Canfield (USA), 5-7-1-4-7-6-6-6, 46
5. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher (GBR), 1-2-2-12-4-2-11-11, 44
6. France, Quentin Delapierre (FRA), 3-4*-13-8-9-4-10-8, 36
7. Canada, Giles Scott (CAN/GBR), 6-10-11-10-6-3-8-3, 31
8. Germany, Erik Heil (GER), 9-6-8-6-3-11-7-10, 28
9. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter (SUI), 11-12-10-11-5-8-3-4, 25
10. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested (DEN), 8-9-6-5-7-12-9, 24
11. Italy, Phil Robertson (NZL), 7-13-4-7-8-9-9-12, 22
12. New Zealand, Peter Burling (NZL), 13-8-12-13-13-13-5-5, 14
13. Brazil, Martine Grael/Paul Goodison (BRA/GBR), 10-11-7-9-12-10-13-13, 8
* Received compensation points for Sydney due to boat damage in Event 2.

Season 6 – 2026 Schedule:
• Jan 17-18 – Perth, Australia
• Feb 14-15 – Auckland, New Zealand
• Feb 28-March 1 – Sydney, Australia
• Apr 11-12  – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• May 9-10 – Hamilton, Bermuda
• May 30-31 – New York, USA
• June 20-21 – Halifax, Canada
• July 25-26- Portsmouth, GBR
• August 22-23 – Sassnitz, Germany
• Sept 5-6 – Valencia, Spain
• Sept 19-20 – Geneva, Switzerland
• Nov 21-22 – Dubai, UAE
• Nov 28-29 – Abu Dhabi, UAE
Note: The 11th event was moved to Geneva from Saint-Tropez, France.

Season 6 format:
• Thirteen teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event is two days.
• The league has shifted to a split fleet format for qualifying, using season standings to balance the two groups.
• The top two from each fleet advance to a 4-boat final race for the event title.
• The season ends with the Grand Final event which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing.
• All league teams are privately owned, with New Zealand as the last to be acquired on June 19, 2026.

Season 6 prize money:
A total of USD $12.8 million is up for grabs in 2026. The winner of each of the 13 events takes home $400,000, with $260,000 for second and $140,000 for third. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins $400,000, while the team that wins the Championship Final Race wins USD $2 million.

F50 Configuration:
All teams use same configuration based on weather forecast. There are four wingsail sizes (18m, 24m, 27.5m, and 29m), six jib sizes, two T-foil daggerboards (high-speed and low-speed), and one set of rudders with high-speed and low-speed settings.

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