Switzerland SailGP Team full steam ahead for a big 2025
by Switzerland SailGP Team 16 Jan 22:37 PST
18-19 January 2025
Switzerland SailGP Team © Switzerland SailGP Team
Switzerland SailGP Team kick starts the new year this weekend, with the first ever Auckland Sail Grand Prix taking place 18-19 January. The new racecourse is located on Waitemata Harbour, in front of the city's iconic harbour bridge, and over 25,000 fans are expected to watch from the shore this weekend, including 8,000 per day in the grandstand - one of the Championships largest ticketed crowds ever.
Auckland marks the second event of Season 2025 and it's the teams third time racing in New Zealand; for the past two years Christchurch has hosted the SailGP fleet. The high-speed racing action takes place in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday morning CET - from 04:00am / 16:00 NZT - but fans back home in Switzerland can watch the racing replayed anytime over the weekend on SailGP's YouTube channel. How to watch around the world here.
The Swiss first hit the water at the start of this week for training, which also saw the introduction of the fleet's new cutting-edge 'T-foils'. The new foils, replacing the previous 'L-Foils', promise faster and closer racing than ever before. They have been specifically designed to improve performance, control and safety of the F50s at high speeds. Check out Sebastien Schneiter's 60-second overview here. The fleet was also trialing a split-fleet format during practice racing, in preparation for the league's expansion to a 12 boat fleet later this season.
The Swiss line-up onboard F50 Eiger remains the same as the season opener in Dubai with Sebastien Schneiter behind the wheel (driver), Maud Jayet in the strategist role, Arnaud Psarofaghis in wing trimmer and Bryan Mettraux on flight controller. Matt Gotrel and Stewart Dodson race in the grinder positions, G1 and G2, with the support of Olympic gold medallist and two-time America's Cup winner, Joe Sullivan, in reserve. Sullivan steps in to replace Arno De Planta who misses this stage.
Driver Sebastien Schneiter, "The team is feeling really good heading into the racing this weekend and it's been nice to have some extra training time like we did in Dubai. It's going to be an exciting weekend and the set up here is great, the perfect venue for the F50s.
"We have been trying to make the most out of every minute we have on the water and trying to learn about the T-Foils as quickly as possible, to find that little edge on the other competitors. The new foils will help to level the playing field a little, but it's definitely not levelling it completely. I still think the experienced teams and sailors on the F50s that are more comfortable on the boat will be able to learn things a bit quicker than us, but for sure it helps a little.
"We've seen in some of the practice races this week things are going in the right direction for us. We don't have a result target as such for this weekend, we have to stay focused and stick to doing the right processes, then we are confident the results will come."
There are 14 events on the Season 2025 calendar, from Down Under to the UAE, returning venues in the USA and new cities in Europe, including the first ever Rolex Switzerland Sail Grand Prix taking place 20-21 September on Lake Geneva. Auckland is one of the tightest racecourses the league will race on in the Rolex SailGP Championship.
The ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix takes place Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 January, with racing from 4pm-5.30pm NZDT each day.