SailGP confirms 11-team lineup, with one month to Dubai season opener
SailGP has unveiled its largest-ever F50 fleet will hit the startline in Dubai, with 11 teams – including two new nations – set to battle it out at the opening event of the season, the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas, on November 23-24 2024.
The global racing championship has confirmed a 12-strong fleet in Auckland, the second event of the season, after fast tracking the production of ‘boat 12.’ Currently under accelerated development between New Zealand and SailGP Technologies facilities in Southampton, UK, the league’s 12th supercharged F50 catamaran will be utilized by France. Les Bleus will not race in Dubai as the team and its potential new ownership group has decided to wait for the league’s newest F50.
The team will be present for the season launch in the UAE, with a series of scheduled training days post-event. France will join the fleet in Auckland 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. Team CEO Alan Adler has indicated the team will be made up of a roster of new and experienced SailGP athletes, including a handful of high-profile transfers ahead of the Dubai event.
Teams racing in the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix include Spain, New Zealand, Australia, ROCKWOOL Denmark, Emirates GBR, United States, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Mubadala Brazil and Italy. Today’s announcement confirms that Season Champions Spain and New Zealand’s Black Foils will both compete in the 2025 Season. Commercial discussions around both league-owned teams are ongoing.
SailGP Managing Director Andrew Thompson said, “In a little under one month’s time, SailGP’s largest-ever national fleet will hit the startline in the Dubai, culminating 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.”
Thompson continued, “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 startline 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.
Unfolding over two action-packed days on the pristine waters of Mina Rashid, the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas is set to be a flagship event on the Middle East sporting calendar – the third time SailGP has visited the city. Racing close-to-shore, in front of the urban skyline - framed by the Burj Khalifa and some of the city’s most globally-recognized attractions - Dubai has played host to some of the championship’s most memorable racing action, including the closest-ever finish in SailGP history in Season 4.
