SailGP: Excitement at fever pitch as SailGP returns to Dubai

The build up to the sixth event of Season 4 reads like a script from one of the Hollywood stars involved in the historic purchase of the USA SailGP Team. Jimmy Spithill is out as driver – less than two months after delivering the USA’s first win of the season in Cádiz-Andalucía – and in his place, sits Taylor Canfield.

However Spithill has since announced his intention to set up an Italian team in Season 5 and is remarkably still driving in Dubai – representing his home country Australia for the first time since 2001 as replacement for Tom Slingsby, who is on paternity leave. The Australia team increased its championship lead to seven points after a third place in Cádiz-Andalucía but has now gone five straight finals without a win.

While Australia has benefited from Spithill’s temporary free agency for Dubai, Canada has also swooped amid the changes to the USA team. After Chris Draper stepped down as wing trimmer for Canada, they pounced to get Paul Campbell-James.

Campbell-James has been involved in SailGP since its inception and, not just that, Phil Robertson’s Canada will show off another USA recruit. Philippe Presti, one of the world’s most renowned foiling coaches, is Canada’s new coach, replacing Joe Glanfield who is focussing on his role with the British Olympic team.

Canada hasn’t reached a final since the Season 4 opener in Chicago and is currently seventh in the standings, eight points off the three teams that share third place ‒ USA, Spain and Emirates GBR. Rather than Finals, Robertson has twice found himself colliding with Spain’s Diego Botín.

If Robertson and Botín was the original rivalry of Season 4, another has thrust itself into the spotlight in the form of Sir Ben Ainslie’s Emirates GBR and New Zealand’s Peter Burling. Ainslie single-handedly blocked Burling from the Final in Cádiz-Andalucía and Kiwi wing trimmer Blair Tuke let him know about it on the water.

New Zealand returned to racing at the Spain Sail Grand Prix for the first time since its wing collapse and had to make do with fourth after the incident. They are however just two points off the top three in the championship standings.

The Dubai event marks SailGP’s first of many Race For The Future takeovers, highlighting the league’s ongoing commitment and passion to climate action with COP28 currently taking place in the iconic city. The takeover showcases how the league is racing for Impact, Innovation, Inclusivity and Clean Energy solutions.

The event has made history already in racing for inclusivity with a first-ever all female F50 training session taking place in the build up to racing after the Switzerland SailGP Team provided its F50 to the Women’s Pathway program.

At the event is a host of innovative, ground-breaking activations delivered for the first time showing how events can be run more sustainably. This includes a reduction of 36 percent to the on-water fleet ‒ such as race management and coaches operating from the shore, the largest temporary solar array Aggreko has ever installed at an event and the event being powered by 100 percent clean energy.

The Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas gets underway at 2.00 pm local time, December 9, and can be seen on Dubai Sports.

For details on how to watch around the globe visit SailGP.com/watch. For fans in Dubai, tickets are still available to have a seat right in the heart of the action. Head to SailGP.com/Dubai for more information.

Text and images courtesy of SailGP.com.