DUBAI: The Rolex SailGP Championship, which will take place in Dubai this weekend, marks the official start of SailGP’s most expansive season to date, according to a media statement issued on Friday.
SailGP launched its 2025 season on Thursday evening at the House of Sustainability EXPO City in Dubai ahead of the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix.
At the event, Rolex was revealed as the first title partner for the global racing league, now known as the Rolex SailGP Championship.
The SailGP 2025 season launch was the first-ever event to be held at the new venue and provided the perfect setting for the league to present its full lineup of 12 teams. The season will bring a new era of the best high-speed, high-tech racing — with even more on the line.
SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts unveiled on Friday an increased bonus prize purse of $12.8 million up for grabs across the season. “I am pleased to reveal the prize money has grown to $12.8 million — a number we intend to increase as we continue to grow commercially,” he said.
The stakes are high and the rewards for achieving top performance are higher, according to Coutts.
“Which means we can attract — and retain — the sport’s brightest stars, while inspiring up-and-coming future athletes to work hard to gain a place in one of these teams,” he added.
The Rolex SailGP Championship welcomes two new nations — the Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team and Red Bull Italy.
France will miss the Dubai event, selecting to join the fleet in Auckland (the second event of the season), stepping into the league’s newest F50 catamaran, currently under accelerated development. France will be awarded compensatory points for the Dubai event.
Driving for Brazil, Martine Grael will be the first woman to race in the Rolex SailGP Championship. On the team’s preparations heading into the weekend, she said: “We’re doing as much as we can here, going into our eighth day on the water. We’re as prepared as we can be with great learning here so far in Dubai. We’ve been foiling every day and expecting good racing this weekend.”
Fellow gold medalist Ruggero Tita will drive for the league’s other new nation, the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team, while Emirates Great Britain welcomes Dylan Fletcher back into the driver’s seat.
SailGP heavyweights Australia and New Zealand have also found themselves with new talent on the roster after losing foundational team members in a highly active transfer season. Australia’s Kyle Langford (wing trimmer) and New Zealand’s Andy Maloney (flight controller) have both taken up roles in newly sold teams, Italy and Brazil, respectively.
While the trans-Tasman rivals have both made experienced appointments — Chris Draper in Australia and Leo Takahashi in New Zealand — three-time SailGP champion Tom Slingsby said the loss of “King Kyle” could not be overlooked.
“For sure it’s tough for us losing Kyle, but that’s the way the sport is going. Losing a key person like that is going to be tough for our team,” said Slingsby.
Set to be a flagship event on the Middle East sporting calendar, the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix will provide the ultimate blend of sport and spectacle, with close-to-shore stadium racing, and live apres-sail entertainment on both Saturday (Tinie Tempah) and Sunday (Craig David).
Remaining tickets to the event are on sale now at SailGP.com/Dubai.
