January 13, 2025
2 minutes reading time
SailGP: High-speed, titanium T-Foils introduced to SailGP fleet in Auckland
After nearly two years of testing, SailGP has introduced its new high-speed titanium T-foils to the entire F50 fleet ahead of racing this weekend in Auckland.
Five of the 12 national teams trained with the new foils in Auckland during windy conditions that saw gusts up to 50 km/h. These are the windiest conditions the T-Foils have yet been trialled in following testing in Dubai and San Francisco and resulted in New Zealand recording a top speed of 97.2 km/h.
Reacting to the new foils, Mubadala Brazil flight controller Andy Maloney described the training session as ‘a baptism of fire’.
“It was pretty crazy conditions for our first day out on the T-Foils,” said Maloney. “The wind was super gusty and shifty here in Auckland – it was a real baptism by fire for all the teams out there… the learning curve is definitely steep.”
New Zealand flight controller Leo Takahashi agreed on the ‘epic conditions during the first day back on the water’, which resulted in ‘a few pretty crazy moments’.
“You definitely feel that the speeds are a lot higher. The foils are a lot more stable, but at the same time the acceleration is so quick. It’s definitely going to be good racing out there this weekend, especially if we get similar conditions.”
The T-Foils, which will be rolled out as part of the high-speed configuration for the first time this weekend, have been designed to deliver high speeds and even closer racing. They replace the L-Foils, which have been in use since SailGP’s 2019 inception.
SailGP CEO Russell Coutts previously suggested the introduction of the foils could ‘level the playing field’ of the entire fleet, providing an opportunity for the more inexperienced nations to catch up with SailGP’s veteran teams.
Maloney said this was ‘definitely an interesting element’. “Some of the teams we’ve seen at the top of the leaderboard the last few seasons won’t have any more experience on T-Foils than the new teams, so it will be really interesting to see where everyone ends up this weekend.”
Looking ahead, Maloney said the boats would be ‘going faster than they have before’ if conditions matched those seen in practice.
It comes after two years of T-Foil testing, which saw athletes on board the Canada F50 hit a top speed of 101.98 km/h in San Francisco last year.
Constructed from machined titanium and carbon, the high-speed T-Foils have thinner sections than the current L-Foils, reducing drag at high speeds.
Text and images courtesy of SailGP.com.