Switzerland SailGP Team ready for Los Angeles racing debut

by Switzerland SailGP Team 21 Jul 2023 17:29 PDT 22-23 July 2023

Switzerland SailGP Team © Tomas Moya

Switzerland SailGP Team continues its tour of the USA with the first ever Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix this weekend. It's the second consecutive American event of the season, following the Rolex Chicago Sail Grand Prix last month.

The Swiss will be one of 10 international teams going head-to-head on the brand-new compact racecourse located within the Port of Los Angeles. The venue looks set to deliver perfect racing conditions and the tight racecourse, along with the afternoon sea breeze, will make it action packed for the fleet and spectators.

Racing takes place across two days, Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 July, 4pm - 5.30pm local time (PDT) / 1am - 2.30am (CEST). All the teams will line up together for the first time today (Friday) for a series of official practice races.

Over the weekend, Blue Sport will stream the action live online at bluesport.ch and broadcast the racing - delayed - from Sunday evening 8pm CEST.

LA is only the second instalment of Season 4. Chicago last month was the first event of the new season, the first-time racing as a fleet of 10 and the first event with a new line-up onboard F50 Eiger.

In between the two events, driver Sébastien Schneiter was in Marseille competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Test event, where he won a bronze medal for Switzerland. Schneiter said: "It's been a really good few weeks, with the race win in Chicago and the podium in Marseille! Now I'm really looking forward to the racing in LA this weekend. It's a small racecourse - like we had in Dubai - and we should have a good sea breeze each day. So, it could get quite spicy out there!

"LA is only the second event of the season and the second time racing with our new crew line-up. It's a long season with 12 events but we have high expectations for the team this year."

Swiss SailGP Team will once again be supported by two of the sport's most talented sailors. Glenn Ashby will be on the ground and Nathan Outteridge inputting remotely. The line up onboard F50 Eiger remains the same; Will Ryan (AUS) will race at his second SailGP event in the wing trimmer role, Jason Saunders (NZL) in the flight controller position, Laurane Mettraux (SUI) races as strategist and the grinder roles will be shared between Jeremy Bachelin (SUI), Julien Rolaz (SUI) and Guy Endean (NZL).

Switzerland SailGP Team - photo © Tomas Moya

CEO Tanguy Cariou sets the scene: "Los Angeles is a new venue for the team and league, so that's exciting for everyone. We've been building a lot of momentum on the racecourse over our last few events and ended Chicago on a high. But the pressure is never not on, we want to deliver here."

The Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix takes place on Saturday 22 - Sunday 23 July. Racing takes place from 4pm - 5.30pm local time (PDT) 1am - 2:30am CEST. Peter Burling's New Zealand team currently sits top of the Season 4 leader board. Head to SailGP.com/watch for details of how to watch the SailGP around the world.

Switzerland SailGP Team Los Angeles line up

Sébastien Schneiter (SUI) - driver
Will Ryan (AUS) - wing trimmer
Jason Saunders (NZL) - flight controller
Laurane Mettraux (SUI) - strategist
Julien Rolaz (SUI) - grinder
Jérémy Bachelin (SUI) - grinder
Guy Endean (NZL) - grinder
Glenn Ashby (AUS) - sailing advisor (in LA)
Nathan Outteridge (AUS) - sailing advisor (remote)

SailGP Season 4 Championship Standings (After one event)

1 // New Zealand // 10 points
2 // Australia // 9 points
3 // Canada // 8 points
4 // ROCKWOOL Denmark // 7 points
5 // Spain // 6 points
6 // France // 5 points
7 // Emirates GBR // 4 points
8 // Switzerland // 3 points
9 // United States // 2 points
10 // Germany // 1 point

SailGP Season 4 Schedule

2023