Sail GP postponed – but will be back bigger and better in 2021

SailGP, has announced that its second season of racing has been postponed until next year. The global sports sailing championship which sets F50 catamarans racing against each other at speeds of more than 50 knots was a popular spectacle during Cowes Week last year and was due to return to the regatta in August this year.

New dates have been set for the two events taking place in the USA, in San Francisco and New York, and rescheduled dates are being sought for the UK and Denmark for next year, with plans for two additional events to be added.     Results from the 2020 Sydney SailGP event, the only races which took place this year, will be null and void.

SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts said: “This terrible pandemic has led to the tragic and ongoing loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, and first and foremost, our thoughts go out to those victims, and their grieving families and friends.

“We’ll use the coming months to focus on important initiatives to make both our racing and broadcast even more attractive. I’m confident that our rescheduled second season will go beyond what we would have been able to deliver this year, and we’re extremely fortunate to have the ongoing support of our partners.

Two months ago in Sydney, teams representing Australia, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan, Spain and the United States took to the water.  Four-time Olympic gold medalist Sir Ben Ainslie led the British entry to victory in his SailGP debut.

Ainslie said: “This has of course been a huge challenge for the entire world, and in particular for healthcare workers on the frontline of this crisis. At the end of the day, this is sport, and we’ll get back out there when it’s safe for everyone involved. Of course, it’s tough not to be out on the water, especially after I got my first taste of SailGP in Sydney a couple months ago. Racing these boats is a privilege, and I know we’ll have that moment again. In the meantime, I’ll be looking to find ways to be even better when we are up and racing again next year.”