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Since the third season of SailGP came to a close in San Francisco, the fleet of F50s has grown in anticipation of the new season on June 16-17. SailGP CEO Russell Coutts reveals his behind-the-scenes insight of the league and the fleet.
Season 4 opening battle in Chicago is just days away. Season 4 marks SailGP’s best calendar yet, with 12-events and five new iconic cities. The one I’m most excited about is New York. The infrastructure and facilities for the stadium will be on Governors Island away from the skyscrapers, which means the wind will be less disturbed and the fans will be even closer to the action.
The event in the UAE is another one that will bring fans within touching distance of the racing action while Auckland later in the season will be a milestone event – we’re taking somewhat of a risk by staging the event in a fairly narrow part of the channel.
If the breeze goes across the channel it will be very challenging for the teams. We may even consider changing the format for that event – stay tuned! But I’m confident Aucklanders will get beyond the event and the location means people will be able to watch up-close from the shore making the event more accessible to more people.
We have four events in the U.S. which is obviously an important market for SailGP and almost all of our partners. We’ve had great broadcast results there, but that’s just an indication of what can be achieved.
Our broadcast presence in the UK has also taken a significant step up, with ITV picking up the free-to-air broadcast rights. That’s really positive news and is sure to supercharge our audience figures there…
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