As we post this story, there’s a real buzz of anticipation around Freo as the start of the Rolex SailGP event over this weekend gets closer and closer. The event is a Sell Out on each of the 2 days, with 7,000 fans about to be packed into the grandstands each day at Bathers Beach, Fremantle to watch the thrills and spills. If you are a first time watcher of this event, here is the beginner’s guide to the race weekend courtesy of the fab and informative SailGP website.
The Rolex SailGP Championship is decided over a packed calendar of events staged at iconic locations around the world. Each event unfolds over a two-day racing schedule, with a number of fleet races deciding the winner of each Sail Grand Prix.
The entire fleet goes head to head across six to seven fleet races. The first three to four fleet races unfold on the first day of the event and the final three take place on the second. After fleet racing, the top three ranked teams on points will proceed into the winner-takes-all Final to decide the event winner.
Fleet races are intense, with teams fighting hard to overtake each other and cross the finish line as high in the fleet as possible – points are awarded according to each team’s finishing position. The fleet races are short and snappy, lasting roughly 15 minutes each.
A typical SailGP race weekend features world class racing, live music, premium hospitality and après-sail entertainment, with everything unfolding against the stunning backdrops of SailGP’s iconic locations.
SailGP’s on-site Race Stadium includes access to delicious food and drink, as well as fan shops for official league merchandise and plenty of interactive experiences for fans, such as F50 wheel simulators, cap customization and grinder challenges.
Racing will take place during an official race window of 1.5 hours, but SailGP’s Race Stadium usually opens one hour before racing and closes 1.5 hours afterwards.
The Grand Final race weekend
The Grand Final is the last event of a season. The five fleet races take place as usual and the top three ranked teams on the overall season leaderboard will then qualify for the Championship-deciding Grand Final showdown. These three top teams will go head-to-head battling it out to be crowned SailGP Champion.
And here are the competing teams.
*Words and images courtesy SailGP
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