Three events into Season 5 of the SailGP Championship and there have been three different winners. This campaign feels the most open yet and, with another 11 race weekends remaining, culminating in the season finale in Abu Dhabi this November, plenty could change.
Two new teams joined the championship this season, both skippered by double Olympic champions. Italy’s Ruggero Tita has been signed up to drive the Italians’ F50 catamarans and Martine Grael became the first female driver in the competition’s history, steering Brazil.
To have any chance of getting up to speed this season, both the Italians and Brazilians realized they would have to hire talented and experienced athletes. Having stepped away from the wheel of the United States F50 partway through last season, Jimmy Spithill has taken up his new role as team boss of Italy with gusto and one of his first big moves was to poach wing trimmer Kyle Langford from the Australian team and install the three-time SailGP winner in the Italian boat. Similarly, New Zealand’s flight controller, Andy Maloney, took the same role in the new Brazil team.
Over the opening races, Britain has become a legitimate title threat, combining strong starts with disciplined comebacks whenever behind, while Australia remains lethal. As the…
