Wingsail issue fixed ahead of New York SailGP
Australia SailGP Team helmed by Tom Slingsby are attended to by their support boat and the safety teams after the main wing broke during San Francisco Grand Prix, 2025.
Photo:
PHOTOSPORT
Repairs and upgrades to all 12 wingsails on the F50 catamarans will be completed in time for the New York Sail Grand Prix, SailGP said on Monday.
SailGP cancelled its Rio event last month due to a wingsail defect which was identified after the Australian boat's wing collapsed in San Francisco in March.
"These new components for the wingsails feature an Aluminum Nomex core and increased laminate, which means the new shear webs will be approximately twice as strong," SailGP CEO Russell Coutts said in a statement.
"It's a huge team effort, but our fans can expect all twelve teams back on the race course when racing kicks off in New York."
The operation, shared between American Magic's Florida workshop and SailGP Technologies in the UK, has seen teams extract compromised components, refit electronics, and prepare each hull for exhaustive sea trials.
With a strict one-design ethos underpinning the league's competitive integrity, the May 3-4 Rio event was cancelled, ensuring no team gained or lost advantage as the refit progressed.
The event will resume at the New York Sail Grand Prix on June 7-8, its final North American stop before the European leg begins in July.
Australia, skippered by Tom Slingsby, lead the season's standings with 39 points after five races, one ahead of Dylan Fletcher's Britain, with Diego Botin's Spanish team third.
New Zealand is fourth.
SailGP is the global sailing championship featuring national teams competing in identical, high-performance F50 foiling catamarans that can reach speeds over 50 knots (93 kph).
-Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
18 hours ago
- RNZ News
Cricket: Australia's Hazlewood returns for WTC final against South Africa
Australia cricket captain Pat Cummins and his team will look to defend the ICC Test Championship title against India at Lord's. Photo: Photosport Marnus Labuschagne will open the batting for Australia and Josh Hazlewood has been selected in the bowling line-up for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's , captain Pat Cummins said on the eve of the game. Labuschagne has been moved up the order to accommodate the return of Cameron Green, who underwent back surgery in October and was ruled out of the home season, while Hazlewood is fit again after a calf injury to replace of Scott Boland. "Cam Green has been coming back in great form in the last few weeks and we thought he deserved a spot in the batting lineup. We thought three probably suits him best," Cummins told a press conference. "For Marnus moving one spot up, it's not too different to batting at three. He's done well here in England in the past." Leaving out Boland, who had been one of the heroes of Australia's 3-1 test series win over India this year, had been a difficult decision. "There are some guys where you genuinely say, you've done nothing wrong, don't change a thing and that's Scotty. He is just really unfortunate to miss out. "The message to Scotty is there's a lot of test cricket coming up in the next couple of years and just because your mid-30s doesn't mean that's the end of your career. "By having a squad of fast bowlers, hopefully we can extend all our care for an extra couple of years." An element of selection criteria was to reward those who had contributed to defending champions Australia winning 13 of 19 tests in the two-year WTC cycle and reaching yet another final. "I think our selectors have probably shown you that they're happy and they'd rather give someone an extra little run than pull the pin too early. I think it's partly rewarding those guys that got us here." Cummings said defending the title was high on the Australian priority list, even after all their success in the limited-overs formats. "It's a trophy we've spoken a lot about over the last couple of years. Test cricket is my favourite format. You've got to basically win in all different conditions to make it into this final. If we can retain that mace, that's a pretty awesome thing for this team." Australia team: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood. - Reuters
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Spin could be major factor in WTC final, says Australia's Smith
Australia's Nathan Lyon appeals for an LBW during the second Test match against Pakistan in Melbourne. Photo: photosport Australia batter Steve Smith expects spin to play a significant role in this week's World Test Championship final at Lord's as London basks in dry weather ahead of Wednesday's start. Australia defend their title against a South African side making a first appearance in the final on what could be dryer than usual pitch at Lord's and where the seam attacks are expected to dominate. "I think spin will play a big part, particularly as the game wears on," Smith told a media conference on Monday. "We've only been here a week, but I think it's been pretty dry start to the season over here. There hasn't been too much rain, which is rare for England. "It does look like quite a dry surface and I think the footmarks will definitely come into play as the game wears on." Smith, who is expected to bat at number four, has enjoyed success at Lord's with a double century in the Ashes a decade ago and another ton against England two years ago. "It takes a little bit of time getting used to the slope on the one end," he said. "You feel like you're falling over a little bit while at the other end you feel quite tall. "It takes a couple of deliveries just to get used to that from both ends. I think each time you play out here, you certainly get value for your shots, particularly hitting the ball down the hill. It races away, so it can be a nice wicket to bat on as we've seen over the years as well." Conditions, however, can change quickly in England. "If there's a bit of cloud about and the balls swing around, it can get tricky," Smith said. "Batting on this surface is about just summing it up and playing what's in front of you and being able to adapt accordingly." Australia have not had much practice in the game's first-class format over recent months. "All the batters feel like they're in a good place, so now just excited to go out and play. Lord's is a place we traditionally played pretty good cricket, so we're excited about the prospect of coming up against South Africa," Smith added. -Reuters
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Rugby: Next six months will be critical - outgoing NZR boss Mark Robinson
NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson Photo: PHOTOSPORT The outgoing boss of New Zealand Rugby believes he is leaving the organisation in a better place. Chief executive Mark Robinson has resigned and will leave the organisation at the end of the year after six years in the role. The nine-Test All Black said the decision was driven by a desire to join his family, who are now based in Australia. Robinson said the next six months would be a critical time for the sport. "We have massive opportunities as it relates to the international calendar that we're very close to finalising. Then we have a fantastic opportunity again around the financial model of the game in New Zealand ...to find a way to be on a more sustainable footing going forward," Robinson said. The 51-year-old felt he was leaving the organisation in a better place because of the significant potential for growth. "The focus we now have on fans and the positioning we've done internationally ...our teams, our athletes, our brands are far more recognisable all around the world. Our sponsorship base has more than doubled. "We now invest close to $40 million a year into the community game ...we're seeing community rugby numbers bounce back to sort of pre-Covid levels." During his time, New Zealand Rugby had to deal with the drawn-out Silver Lake negotiations when the US private equity firm invested in the game here, which Robinson said was an important juncture for the sport. "When you look at what we've been able to invest in over the last few years ...and we are definitely seeing green shoots and signs that we can grow revenue ...we were a little bit ahead of our time in terms of looking at that opportunity. "Seeing all the things we've been able to invest in to bring the Silver Lake deal to fruition and be able to invest over $60 million in participants and fans and stakeholders." He said it was important for the organisation to reflect the community. "Our country is very different to what it was five years ago and I think our environments and our team and our people have made huge shifts there around how accessible and open and inclusive our environments are." All Blacks head coach Ian Foster (left) and NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson. Photo: PHOTOSPORT He said it was important to preserve the history of New Zealand Rugby, while not getting left behind. "Forcing ourselves to be different in the way we think about the future of the game and the way we connect with fans and participants is a constant challenge ...because the trends around sport, recreation and entertainment are constantly evolving." A very drawn-out public All Blacks head coaching saga occurred during his time. Scott Robertson was initially rumoured to be replacing Ian Foster but ultimately Foster was given a chance to continue to the 2023 World Cup, after Robertson was announced as his successor. Robinson said New Zealand Rugby put the success of the team at the front of all the decisions. "It meant pushing and making sure we had the right people there to have the absolute best chance of winning that tournament. And then we also had the team's best interests at heart as it relates to the medium to long term and made what changes were needed to set us up for success." Robinson said leading the organisation through Covid was the toughest part of his tenure. "I think I was three weeks into the role when Covid came along ...but what we've been able to do through the immediate aftermath of Covid in terms of growing revenue by over 60 percent on an annual basis. "We also at that time took stock of where the game was at and started talking I think for the first time around this game having to be far more fan centric ...and in the community game to really focus on our participants." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
