Sail GP, British party in Sydney: uphill road for Red Bull ITA Sail GP Team

Dylan Fletcher with Emirates GBR won the Sydney leg of the Sail GP ahead of North Star Canada and Australia. In the three-boat final the battle was really down to the wire, with the Canadians edging out the Australians at the finish by only 6 seconds. It was a nail-biting final, with the Australians leading the Brits off the foils at the start but taking a penalty that would be decisive, leaving the Brits and Canadians to battle it out for first place.

The season standings, after the three stages in Dubai, Auckland and Sydney, see the British in 1st place, followed in 2nd place by the Australians and in 3rd place by the Spanish.

Sail GP – A Tough Game

What is contested in SailGP is a challenging game, where the skills of the entire crew are geared toward running the boat but also controlling it to avoid collisions, which is not easy when a dozen or so wide catamarans come to the starting line in a space-however narrow-not too comfortable maneuvering with tight spaces, but fast by necessity if they do not want to fall off the foils. As I add at the end of the article, there are unusual penalty rules in place for SailGP that are of great interest.

In Sydney, the practice day and the two dedicated to racing saw the teams face off inside the harbor, in an extremely beautiful natural landscape and with a wild crowd aiming for victory for the home team. There was also great disappointment for the New Zealanders, who were supported by an audience of their own but seemed to be struggling.

Sail GP – Uphill races for Italians

The Italians of the Red Bull ITA Sail GP Team continue their learning curve with good starts and decent races, the team is improving day by day but still seems to lack some speed and the results in Sydney have not been improving. A really new iteration for Ruggero Tita, who is working on crew coordination and takes great care not to get involved in risky situations: really a great challenge for Tita, who had the enthusiasm to get involved.

Red Bull ITA Sail GP Team closes the two days in Sydney in 9th place. On Saturday our team had placed 8th after the 4 races (9 – 10 – 9 – 8) while in the three races on Sunday for the Italian boat it was not a brilliant day (9 – 9 – 11).

Really decisive for all the teams was Friday’s day, reserved for practice races, which saw all kinds of unforeseen events: from scuffles with damage, to collisions, to penalties of the day and season. With tense winds, causing the AC50s to touch 50 knots, and conditions where it becomes difficult to maneuver in a fleet. The U.S. is knocked out of the race right away: in the tow to the start they scuff with a lot of damage, especially to the wing, and are unfortunately grounded for the entire two days of the race. The conditions are such that Red Bull Italy, Switzerland and France shortly thereafter decide (wisely) to forfeit the last races.

But all the attentions of the test day are for Erik Heil’s Team Germany, which in three incidents manages to score 32 penalty points (so Saturday starts from – 32) plus 20 season penalty points, which will have to be scaled in all the next stages: this is the first time in SailGP history that a team has been penalized so severely. In the 1st incident, during the first round, Team Germany touched the rear of Red Bull Italy. In the 2nd incident, during the second race, the Germans hit the part between the two hulls of Mubadala Brazil, breaking the bowsprit as well and causing some damage to the Brazilian boat. In the 3rd incident, when leaving the race course, the Germans damaged their wing.

The first day, Saturday’s, saw Australia, helmed by the very strong Tom Slingsby, dominate with the victory of two races, plus a second and a third place, already acquiring the score to enter the final. Second place for Dylan Fletcher’s Emirates GBR, third for Quentin Delapierre’s French, followed by Switzerland, Denmark, Spain and Canada, all teams with a chance to enter the final three. Very much in trouble were the Black Foils of Peter Burling, who had a problem at the start in the first race, falling off the foils, and in addition a technical hull trouble in the fourth race. The second day, Sunday, was disastrous for New Zealand with an injury to Billy Gooderham, air controller. Disappointment also for Spain, which had won the 2024 edition.

Sail GP – How penalties work

It is interesting to read the regulations regarding penalties taken for SailGP races. Collision. Boat responsible: 4 points, boat involved: 2 points. Collision with damage. Responsible boat: 8 points, boat involved: 4 points (if contact could have been avoided). Collision with severe damage. Responsible boat: 12 points, boat involved: 6 points (if contact could have been avoided).

In addition, at the end of the stage, if a crew has taken penalty points, they are also charged additional points that will be deducted during the season. Therefore:

– 4 event points generate 2 season points

– 5 to 8 event points generate 4 season points

– 9 to 12 event points generate 8 season points

– more than 13 event points generate 12 seasonal points

Ida Castiglioni