Sailing
Everything you need to know about the winner-takes-all SailGP final
The entire SailGP season is on the line in San Francisco this weekend. Find out why it’s going to be a truly must-watch sporting spectacle.
One race, 12 minutes, winner takes all. It sounds intense and it is – with the entire season on the line for Jimmy Spithill and the United States SailGP Team as they line-up at the SailGP finale in San Francisco on March 26-27. Watch the video above to see what Spithill's made of the season so far.
New to SailGP? Imagine driving a convertible sports car at 100kph in the rain and you might start to get a picture of what the world’s best sailors have to deal with. Or just check out the spectacular images below from training on Monday, when the United States SailGP Team capsized in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
The final race on Sunday will feature three boats going head-to-head to be crowned champions of SailGP.
Australia and Japan are the two teams vying to keep Spithill and his crew from glory, but let's face it, a bit of pressure has never bothered the USA driver, known as 'pitbull' thanks to his never-say-die determination.
Jamie O'Brien and Kai Lenny joined Spithill on board the US boat
© Bob Martin/SailGP for Red Bull Content Pool
Famous for masterminding the greatest comeback in sports history in the 2013 America's Cup, Spithill took the wheel of the USA SailGP Team ahead of the season opener in Bermuda in May 2021 and even by his standards, it’s been a, um, 'testing' season.
Smashed up boats, capsizes, unidentified floating objects, you name it, many challenges have been sent the way of the American team, but they've bounced back from every one and made it this far thanks to a super-tight team ethic and next-level motivation.
As the teams prepare to put it all on the line this weekend, we look back on an insane Season 2 – and remember some of the United States SailGP Team’s never-say-die, wow moments from this year.
Spithill's US SailGP Team capsize in training
© Bob Martin/SailGP for Red Bull Content Pool
1. Spectacular capsize in home waters
Just days before the biggest race of the season – the showdown in home waters – the United States SailGP Team capsized in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco during training - and they had some special guests onboard too, in surf legends Kai Lenny and Jamie O’Brien.
With no injuries or damage to the boat, the home team is good to go for the big race weekend, but it's a sign of the drama that could unfold in San Francisco bay, with it all to play for. It was also a spectacular reminder of the type of drama that has played out all season… starting right back in the first event of the season.
The aftermath of the collision in Bermuda
© SailGP/Red Bull Content Pool
2. An unexpected crash in paradise
Picture this: it’s your first Sail Grand Prix of the season, you’ve almost booked your place in the final podium race of the event – and BAM! – it’s over. Spithill and his crew had a rough welcome to SailGP in Bermuda, when they were, well, completely wiped out by the Japan boat to finish in last place. The pictures were more Demolition Derby than sailing, but it shows the speed of these foiling F50s, the pilot-like reaction times needed by the drivers and the lengths the best sailors in the world will go to in order to grab an advantage. "It’s the worst possible way for a new team to enter a competition like SailGP," said Spithill.
Event 2 of the series didn't go to plan for Spithill and team in Italy
© SailGP/Red Bull Content Pool
3. UFO spotting in Italy
To finish first, you first have to finish, as the famous saying goes. After a race against the clock to get the USA F50 (lovingly known as The Eagle) back on the water for the second Sail Grand Prix of the season in Italy, it was all going to plan. The United States SailGP Team made the final race and were well on their way to winning it – and then, disaster struck. Turns out that, sometimes, it's not just your rivals on the water that can prevent you from winning. "We hit an underwater floating object," explains Spithill. "We had no idea what it was, but it snapped our rudder and took us out of the race." Despite the setback, the American team still took third in the event.
USA SailGP claimed fourth place in Aarhus despite some rough conditions
© Brian Carlin/ROCKWOOL
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4. Racing on the edge of chaos in Denmark
With the SailGP boats flying above the water at speeds approaching 100kph, the athletes onboard are just a split-second away from it all going wrong. They're sailing on the edge of chaos – and when the boat is fully-loaded, it generates an incredible amount of G-force, hitting as much as 3Gs as the boat turns at speed. That's the same as an astronaut experiences during a rocket launch and enough to deprive an untrained adult brain of oxygen. So, it's no surprise that there's the odd mishap along the way, although few are as spectacular as the United States SailGP Team capsize in Denmark at the ROCKWOOL Sail Grand Prix.
The United States SailGP Team in Cádiz
© SailGP/Red Bull Content Pool
5. Near-miss in big breeze in Spain
A fleet of the world's best sailors on flying boats, plus a very big breeze, only means one thing: carnage. So, when the SailGP teams lined up in Cádiz, Spain, in more than 20 knots, few expected anything less than pure adrenaline and jaw-dropping action. It was the British team – led by Ben Ainslie – which lost control first, capsizin and almost causing a pile-up that the United States SailGP Team narrowly avoided, crashing in the process. Luckily, the Eagle got out with no damage and even managed to grab a second place overall – underlining the American team's ability to claw back vital points from adversity.