SailGP has arrived in Dubai and preparations are well underway ahead of this weekend’s Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix.
The Tech Base has been built and the first F50s have hit the water - with ROCKWOOL DEN and Switzerland sharing the Swiss F50 and the all-new USA line-up hitting the water for the first time to undertake training.
The two-day spectacle of fast and furious shoreside racing will see the 10 national teams go head to head on the Mina Rashid against the backdrop of Dubai’s iconic cityscape.
Sponsored by Emirates, the event marks the ‘home away from home’ event for Ben Ainslie’s Emirates GBR, which picked up two event wins in the three-part European triple header this summer.
The hydrofoiling fleet has three days of on water training before practice racing takes place on Friday December 8th - official racing will get underway at 2pm GST on December 9 & 10.
The fleet will go to battle across five fleet races before the top three scoring teams proceed to the winner-takes-all showdown on Sunday afternoon.
Three-time champions Australia will look to defend the top spot of the leaderboard, but will have to do so without driver Tom Slingsby for the first time. Instead, former USA driver Jimmy Spithill will sub in for Slingsby, taking the wheel of the gold and green F50 for the weekend.
Elsewhere, Taylor Canfield’s new USA line-up will take on the fleet for the first time, making a keenly anticipated debut on the waters of Dubai.
The Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas will take place on December 9 & 10.
