SAILGP 2020 IS SUSPENDED
HOMENEWSCOVID-19SAILGP 2020 IS SUSPENDED
04 May 2020
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No further SailGP racing will take place until 2021
INDUSTRY DATABASE
SAILGP
SailGP has suspended its racing for the remainder of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic – including the Cowes event due to take place in August.
SailGP season two events will now be rescheduled for 2021 with a minimum of seven worldwide events planned.
“The global nature of our league is one of our strongest characteristics, as we bring together top talent from all over the world to both organise and compete in a new form of professional racing,” said SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts. “As we face this health emergency, our geographic diversity unfortunately becomes a potential liability both to ourselves and those around us.”
Initiatives
And he explained how the coming months will see the focus shift to initiatives to make both the racing and broadcast more attractive with further development of the F50 catamarans.
“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 partners including Rolex, Oracle, ROCKWOOL and our many broadcasters to help us get there,” added Sir Russell.
British team leader Sir Ben Ainslie added: “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.”
SailGP is a newly established global sports championship featuring inshore racing in identical catamarans capable of speeds exceeding 50 knots.