SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts has confirmed that all twelve teams will be back on the race course when racing returns to New York.
With only three weeks to the New York event, Russell Coutts said, “It’s a huge team effort, but our fans can expect all twelve teams back on the race course when racing kicks off in New York.”
SailGP made the decision to cancel last month’s Enel Rio Sail Grand Prix after identifying a potential defect in select wingsails across the F50 fleet – now confirmed.
The issue was discovered following testing and analysis of the Australia SailGP Team’s wingsail collapse in March in San Francisco. The inspection confirmed a bonding issue in some shear webs across the F50 fleet, which are now being replaced alongside the upgrades.
Ahead of the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, 7-8 June, each F50 multihull will receive an upgraded ‘main element 1’ – the area of the wingsail that bears the most load in racing conditions – with further upgrades scheduled throughout the season.
Russell Coutts said, “These new components for the wingsails feature an Aluminum Nomex core and increased laminate, which means the new shear webs will be approximately twice as strong.”
Coutts continued, “This is a major refit, with multiple teams working around the clock on extraction, production, design, testing, and reinstallation, split between the American Magic facility in Pensacola, Florida, and at SailGP Technologies in the U.K.”
SailGP will resume competition for the 2025 Season at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, 7-8 June 2025. Tickets to the event are on sale now at SailGP.com/tickets.
