SailGP has unveiled its largest-ever F50 fleet for Season 5, with 11 teams – including two new nations – for the opening event of the season in Dubai on November 23-24, 2024. And for the second event, the completion of an additional boat will expand the field to 12 teams.
Currently under accelerated development between New Zealand and SailGP Technologies facilities in Southampton, UK, the league’s 12th F50 catamaran will be utilized by France. The team will not race in Dubai as its potential new ownership group has decided to wait.
However, France will be present for the season launch in the UAE, with a series of scheduled training days post-event. France will join the fleet for the second event in Auckland (Jan. 18-19) after being awarded compensatory points for the Dubai event.
Plans for a new Italy SailGP Team are also confirmed, with official team announcement – including the full athlete line-up – to follow. The team will be led by former SailGP star Jimmy Spithill, who announced his intentions to form an Italian team after his exit from the U.S. SailGP Team one year ago.
Italy will be the second new national team to join SailGP in the 2025 Season. Confirmed in June, the Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team will also race for the first time in Dubai, led by double Olympic Gold Medalist Martine Grael, the first woman to ever drive for a SailGP team.
The Brazilian team CEO Alan Adler has indicated the crew roster will have new and experienced SailGP athletes, including a handful of high-profile transfers ahead of the Dubai event.
Season Champion Spain and New Zealand, which are the remaining league-owned teams, will also compete in the 2025 Season.
“In a little under one month’s time, SailGP’s largest-ever national fleet will hit the startline in the Dubai,” reports SailGP Managing Director Andrew Thompson. “This culminates a period of rapid expansion for the league – with multiple team sales, new host venues, and some very exciting new global partnerships which will be announced as we head into Dubai.
“The 2025 Season launch will cement SailGP’s position as the leading on-water racing championship, with the world’s best athletes competing year-round in iconic global destinations.
“Final team lineups demonstrate we’re attracting and retaining the sport’s best talent, with the top SailGP athletes recognised as the leading stars in this new era of sail racing. In addition to a competitive transfer market, we’re excited to confirm a handful of new team athlete signings over the coming weeks.”
With 12 national teams on the start line in January 2025, SailGP has also confirmed a new scoring system, in which points will only be awarded to teams who finish 1-10 in both qualifying fleet races and the overall event results.
The 2025 Season also promises more prize money for SailGP athletes, with the league signaling intentions to significantly increase the overall purse up for grabs across the season, which totaled US $7million in Season 4 – the largest in the sport.
Twelve Teams for Season 5
• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• Denmark
• France
• Germany
• Great Britain
• Italy
• New Zealand
• Spain
• Switzerland
• United States
SailGP information – YouTube – Facebook
Season 5 Schedule
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 22-26 – San Francisco, USA
May 3-4 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 7-8 – New York City, USA
July 19-20 – Great Britain *
August 16-17 – Sassnitz, Germany
September 6-7 – Taranto, Italy
September 20-21 – Geneva, Switzerland
October 4-5 – Andalucía – Cádiz, Spain
November 7-8 – Middle East *
November 29-30 – Grand Final – Abu Dhabi, UAE
* Venue to be announced
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.
Source: SailGP, SSN – https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2024/10/24/more-teams-more-events-more-money/
