First F50s hit the water as countdown to the SailGP Season 2 Grand Last begins

First F50s hit the water as countdown to the SailGP Season 2 Grand Last begins

by SailGP 21 Mar 06:29 UTC
March 26-27, 2022

With precisely one week to go till the SailGP Season 2 Champion is topped, groups took to the long-lasting San Francisco Bay for the primary time in preparation for the Grand Last, March 26-27.

First to hit the bay was the house group, with Jimmy Spithill returning to the scene of his unimaginable comeback within the America’s Cup in 2013 for the primary time. Together with his place within the Championship Last Race assured, Spithill and his U.S. group wasted no time attending to grips with the F50 and the circumstances.

Spithill stated: “It was nice to be again crusing on the bay. There is a heap of historical past right here and San Francisco Bay actually is likely one of the greatest racing venues on this planet so it was good to lastly get on the market on the F50.

“The occasion’s nearly offered out and I am unable to wait to see that vast turnout on the weekend. It is simply nice to see how a lot curiosity there’s been, it will be an enormous occasion in entrance of our dwelling crowd and I’m actually trying ahead to it. We’re the underdogs, however that is not a nasty factor in San Francisco.”

Additionally assured a spot within the ultimate is the general season leaders and defending champions Australia, pushed by Tom Slingsby, who additionally made their debut on the bay at the moment.

Slingsby stated: “It was actually lovely circumstances on the market at the moment. We had an awesome session, our boat dealing with was good and we have been working towards a number of strikes for this weekend. The extent was excessive on the water and it was robust to realize benefit over our rivals in velocity. The U.S. group appeared robust however we have been definitely within the combine so it bodes properly for the Grand Last.

The ultimate place within the championship race is undecided though Nathan Outteridge’s Japan group is the front-runner to take the ultimate spot.

All eight nationwide groups might be coaching this week, representing the U.S., Australia, Denmark, France, Nice Britain, Japan, New Zealand and Spain.

Happening on an iconic race course between the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, 5 races might be contested throughout Saturday and Sunday, earlier than the winner-takes-all, season-deciding ultimate race the place the general season champion might be topped and take dwelling the $1 million prize purse.

Alongside the SailGP Season 2 Championship, for the primary time ever, a second podium may also happen on the Sunday to crown the Affect League winner – the league’s second podium for the planet. SailGP’s Affect League is a world-first, built-in initiative to make sustainability important to the material of the game and speed up the transition to wash vitality. At present Peter Burling and Blair Tuke’s New Zealand lead the cost from Nice Britain and Australia.

San Francisco marks SailGP’s return to the U.S. after a three-year hiatus, promising to ship spectacular racing motion as the game’s greatest athletes compete on the cutting-edge, foiling F50 catamaran – able to closing speeds in extra of 120 mph as they go head-to-head.

Restricted tickets stay for premium on-land viewing close to Marina Inexperienced or on-water experiences to see the thrilling motion unfold on San Francisco Bay. Racing begins at 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Boat house owners are additionally invited to take their vessels out to observe the racing and may register through SailGP’s Convey Your Personal Boat Program. Registered followers will obtain the entire racecourse info and a VHF channel to take heed to for all the newest updates.

For these unable to attend in individual, the motion could be watched in over 186 territories, together with on CBS Sports activities in the USA. Full particulars could be discovered at SailGP.com/Watch.

SailGP Season Championship Leaderboard

1 // Australia // 55 pts

2 // United States // 53 pts

3 // Japan // 51 pts

4 // Spain // 43 pts

5 // New Zealand // 42 pts

6 // Nice Britain // 41 pts

7 // Denmark // 38 pts

8 // France // 35 pts

Affect League Leaderboard

1 // New Zealand // 1066 pts

2 // Nice Britain // 1015 pts

3 // Australia // 997 pts

4 // Spain // 919 pts

5 // France // 915 pts

6 // Japan // 882 pts

7 // United States // 861 pts

8 // Denmark // 823 pts

ABOUT SAILGP // SailGP races for a greater future, championing a world powered by nature. The world’s most fun race on water, SailGP options nationwide groups battling briefly, intense races at iconic stadium-style venues throughout the globe, constructing to the grand ultimate – and crusing’s prime prize of US$1 million. The high-tech, high-speed motion options crusing’s greatest athletes racing in similar hydro foiling F50 catamarans, flying at speeds exceeding 60 mph. Go to SailGP.com for extra info.