Please select your home edition
Edition
North Sails Loft 57 Podcast

Stage set for first Italy Sail Grand Prix in Taranto

by SailGP 4 Jun 2021 12:37 PDT 5-6 June 2021
Practice session ahead of Italy SailGP, Event 2, Season 2 in Taranto, Italy © Bob Martin for SailGP

New rivalries and new rules for second event of SailGP Season 2

The sport's best athletes return to the racecourse this weekend when the first-ever Italy Sail Grand Prix gets under way in the Southern Italian city of Taranto. Following show-stopping action in Bermuda - which saw dramatic racing and an epic collision - SailGP returns for its second event of the season with some new faces and tighter rules to keep both the athletes and the boats safe.

Fans can relive the scenes from Bermuda with the new series of SailGP: Racing on the Edge - the league's behind the scenes content series - that uncovers the stories behind SailGP and the athlete's that make them.

Season 2, Episode 1 kicks-off looking back at the incident between Jimmy Spithill and Nathan Outteridge, when the United States and Japan SailGP Teams crashed at the opening event of the season forcing both boats to retire from the event and resulted in an against-the-clock effort to get both boats to the startline in Taranto.

Outteridge said: "Since Bermuda we've done a lot of analysis of the incident and we had a couple of protest hearings and discussions with the umpires. We made the mistake, we were the give-way boat and we did not give way. We just have to not do that again and I have to put my hand up there, it was a mistake. Mistakes happen. These boats close speed very quickly. The good thing at the end of it is that no one got hurt, the boats are fixed and we can focus on racing here. But, we won't stop pushing, if we are not pushing, we might as well go home."

As a result of the collision, tougher rules are now in place - from Italy onwards - to avoid a collision and ultimately serious damage to the high-tech, identical F50 catamarans. The updated ruling gives more discretion to the umpires to award harsher penalties in the event of a collision which are given depending on the extent of damage. Both for the boat in the wrong, but also if the other boat didn't do enough to avoid the collision. This could also result in ramifications to the points in the overall SailGP Season Championship.

Spithill said: "In the sport of sailing this style of racing is unlike anything else. This is very, very fast and decisions happen very quickly so mistakes are going to happen. Putting that behind us, it will be nice to get through the weekend and complete every race. We only got to race on the first day in the last event and we'd love to get a strong result here.

"It's great to be back here in Italy. I obviously have an association with Italy and just seeing a lot of the locals and a lot of the fans, there is huge engagement and I think we'll see a huge spectator fleet both on and off the water this weekend."

Also excited to be in Italy - at his home event - is Japan SailGP Team member Francesco Bruni. The eight-time world champion is looking forward to putting on a show for home fans, including nearly 900 boats that have registered their place on the water to capture the spectacular action.

Bruni said: "I am very excited and it's a great pleasure to be here. These few days of training have shown to everybody what Taranto is all about and that it's a perfect stadium for sailing. We have had beautiful conditions and I am sure there's going to be some great, great racing. The fans are going to love it."

Adding to the strongest line-up ever seen in the sport is Olympic champion Paul Goodison at the wheel of the Great Britain SailGP Team for the first time who will go head-to-head with Arnaud Psarofaghis, who makes his debut in the driving seat of the New Zealand F50. They will be joined by an on-form French team under the leadership of Billy Besson, the young Spanish team led by Phil Robertson and Florian Trittell, Tom Slingsby's Australia team - that will be hungry for victory this weekend - and Nicolai Sehested's Denmark SailGP Team presented by ROCKWOOL.

The Italy Sail Grand Prix will comprise two days of racing, with five fleet races followed by a podium race with the top three boats in the ultimate showdown to decide the winner on Sunday. As an added incentive, additional prize money will be awarded to the top three boats at each event in addition to the $1 million up for grabs at the Grand Final in San Francisco in March 2022.

Racing gets under way at 1.30 p.m. local and is live on Sky Italia and via Rai Sport as well as worldwide with broadcast coverage now reaching 175 territories. Fans around the world can find out how to watch via SailGP.com/Watch plus download the award winning, free SailGP APP for all the race data and view from the onboard cameras. Limited tickets are available via SailGP.com/Taranto.

Related Articles

SailGP: Roger Federer inspires Swiss SailGP team.
Roger Federer joins forces with Switzerland SailGP Team to inspire success One of Switzerland's greatest sporting icons, Roger Federer, features in the newest episode of Racing on the Edge, SailGP's official behind-the-scenes docuseries, produced in partnership with Rolex. Posted on 27 Jun
Rolex SailGP Championship 2026 dates confirmed
Including a return to fan-favorite destination, Auckland SailGP has released further details of forthcoming 2026 Season, including the return of fan-favorite locations, multi-year hosting agreements secured across all regions, and an evolved regional structure to raise the stakes for athletes and fans alike. Posted on 26 Jun
SailGP opens tender process for two new teams
SailGP has confirmed 2026 expansion plans, unveiling details of a tender process to seek investment. SailGP has confirmed 2026 expansion plans, unveiling details of a tender process to seek investment for ownership of two new teams entering the global racing championship next season, alongside available stakes across existing national teams. Posted on 23 Jun
Russell Coutts explains SailGP's investor value
Russell Coutts explains the growth of SailGP and why investors are chasing a slice of the action. SailGP co-founder and CEO Russell Coutts discusses the hard to understand investment, and growth of SailGP. The growth multiples hoped for SailGP have been achieved, on paper, by the same investors in other sports. Posted on 12 Jun
Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix overall
Spain SailGP Team claims second consecutive U.S. win Diego Botin and the Spain SailGP team have punched their way to the top of the Rolex SailGP Championship, taking the win on Sunday in New York. Posted on 9 Jun
SailGP: Spain win in New York - Day 2
Diego Botin's Spanish crew scraped into the Final, and then took their second successive SailGP win. The Spanish crew led by Diego Botin staged a comeback in the last race after losing an 8pt lead to squeeze into the Final, only taking the lead halfway through the three boat Final. Full race replay here. Posted on 9 Jun
SailGP: Spain lead in New York - Day 1
Spain top the leaderboard after the first day of racing in the Mubadala New York Grand Prix Spain top the leaderboard after the first day of racing in the Mubadala New York Grand Prix, after a consistent day's sailing on the murky and rainswept Hudson River. Full replay and leaderboard in this story. Posted on 7 Jun
Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix day 1
Spain overcomes storm clouds, topping the standings Diego Botin's Spain SailGP Team leads the fleet after a stormy and tactical opening day of the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix. France, ROCKWOOL Denmark and New Zealand are all hot on his heels for all-important leaderboard points. Posted on 7 Jun
Russell Coutts reports ahead of SailGP New York
The New York Russell Report: Coutts on fleet-wide wing repairs and top picks for New York podium SailGP has returned to New York for the third time ahead of this weekend's Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix on June 7/8. Ahead of racing, SailGP CEO Russell Coutts reveals his behind-the-scenes insight of the fleet. Posted on 7 Jun
SailGP to Kick Off Summer in New York
With this Weekend's Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix An unforgettable weekend of high-speed, close-to-shore racing and world-class entertainment will take place this weekend when the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix takes place in front of the most famous skyline in the world. Posted on 5 Jun
Doyle_SailWorld_728X90px_GP BOTTOMZhik 2024 DecemberBarton Marine Pipe Glands