SailGP: 2025 season begins in earnest in Auckland with more teams and new foils
by SailGP Media/Sail-World.com/nz 11 Jan 07:33 AEDT
Spectators watch from the grandstand in the race stadium as team flags are paraded by on Race Day 1 of the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix - November 2024 © Felix Diemer/SailGP
When the new 2025 season dawned in Dubai, two new teams took to the water for the first time as the most expansive SailGP season got underway, with new venues ahead and a raft of F50 upgrades in the pipeline.
The season opener came off the back of a turbulent transfer season, which disrupted the long-time crew configurations of league heavyweights New Zealand and Australia. Wing trimmer Kyle Langford left the Aussies for Red Bull Italy, while the Kiwis lost long-time flight controller Andy Maloney to Mubadala Brazil. Maloney was swiftly replaced by Leo Takahashi, skipper of the NZ Youth America's Cup team and Tokyo2020 Olympic representative in the 49er skiff.
This significant change to the established crew line-up saw the Kiwis temper their racing ambitions. “We go into any event putting our best foot forward,” driver Peter Burling says, “but in Dubai we had slightly different expectations because of the reshuffle.” However, when racing got underway, it was business as usual. The Black Foils topped the leaderboard on points after five fleet races and trounced Emirates GBR and the United States in the three boat Final to take the first event win.
New Zealand’s best possible season start followed a glittering Season 4 performance and marked the Kiwis’ third consecutive win in the UAE after winning both Dubai and Abu Dhabi in Season 4. While the team lost out to underdogs Spain in San Francisco’s Grand Final, they racked up more wins than any other team last season, securing five event wins from seven Finals and replacing Australia as the most dominant force on the racecourse.
Now, they’re heading home. SailGP’s first ever visit to Auckland gets underway next weekend. Their record at home is solid, with a second place finish in Season 3 followed by a triumphant and determined victory in Season 4, both on the South Island’s Lyttelton Harbour. While Dubai and Auckland might seem like polarizing venues, Burling is quick to highlight their similarities. Auckland’s racecourse will be located on the busy thoroughfare of Waitemata Harbour, just minutes from downtown Auckland. Both Auckland and Dubai, the latter of which hosts racing on Mina Rashid, have racecourses ‘on the smaller side’ of what the fleet is used to, resulting in close quarter, dynamic racing. For the fans, both have the perfect layout, with the Tech Site, Race Stadium, Adrenaline Lounge and racecourse ‘all within 100m meters of each other’.
The Italy SailGP Team of Ruggero Tita, driver, Kyle Langford, wing trimmer, Andrea Tesei, flight controller, Enrico Voltolini, grinder, Alex Sinclair, grinder, Giulia Fava, strategist, and Matteo Celon, grinder of Italy SailGP Team, stand for a team photo - photo © Ricardo Pinto/SailGP
[S-WNZ: The location of the SailGP course in the inner harbour, outside the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, sandwiched between Wynyard and Stanley Points adjacent to the harbour bridge, is normally used as a training area for the RNZYS Youth program and has hosted numerous major match racing championships. It will be the first sailing event to use the new viewing platform at the end of Wynyard Point, formerly a fuel and hazardous substances storage facility. Although tight, it is an all-weather, all wind direction course, with relatively even tidal influence. SailGP CEO Russell Coutts has raced at the location many times, in his match racing career.]
The on water activity of Waitemata Harbour means it doesn’t often host sailing events, handing the Black Foils an advantage when racing gets underway. As the team they’ve ‘done more sailing in the area than anyone else’, Burling says. “Everyone in SailGP has spent a big chunk of time in Auckland, so I think the city is relatively familiar to most of the athletes,” he says, “but it’s a pretty busy part of the harbor - I don’t think many of them have sailed in the upper harbor where we’re going to race.” He predicts the venue to provide ‘flat water’ and ’shiftier, windier conditions’ than Dubai, resulting in ‘dynamic' racing. But the main selling point, he says, will be the ‘vibe from the fans’. “We’ve had such amazing support in our New Zealand events down in Christchurch and hopefully we can take that to another level.”
Despite the team’s edge of experience in Auckland, Burling denies the Kiwis will have an advantage over the rest of the fleet. “Unless you’ve sailed at a venue in an F50, I don’t think you have a leg up on anyone else,” he says. “These courses have such tight boundaries and you’re so influenced by what other boats do that most of the local knowledge you build up from just doing the events there.”
When it comes to the fleet, Burling picks all the likely culprits as his team’s greatest competition when racing gets underway; triple SailGP champions Australia, Season 4 Champions Spain, as well as Giles Scott’s Canada and Dylan Fletcher’s Emirates GBR. But Auckland will also see the return of Quentin Delapierre’s France, which sat out the season opener while awaiting a new F50. “They had a super strong last season and I’d expect them to be near the top,” Burling says. Despite this, Burling has his eyes set on defending the home title and delighting home fans with a Kiwi win. “Performing and winning at home is so special - we’ve got so many fans cheering us on and I think everyone is going to be blown away by the support this event gets in Auckland.”
The ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland takes place on 18-19 January, with racing from 4pm-5.30pm NZDT.