Emirates GBR ready for battle at KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix
by Emirates GBR SailGP Team 7 Feb 2025 13:14 GMT
Emirates GBR during official practice racing ahead of KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix © SailGP
The Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team is ready for battle to maintain its top spot on the leaderboard at the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix this weekend. The British crew, driven by Olympic gold medallist Dylan Fletcher, will race 11 national teams in a two-day spectacle on Sydney Harbour. Emirates GBR CEO Sir Ben Ainslie will be in Sydney for the event, and hoping to see his team top the podium in the city where he won his first Olympic gold 25 years ago.
The Australian Sail Grand Prix is the third event with Fletcher at the wheel of the British team's F50 race boat, after taking on the role for the start of the 2025 Season. Fletcher and the crew placed second in Dubai and third in Auckland, putting them at the top of the leaderboard but on equal points with the New Zealand team, led by Fletcher's old Olympic and America's Cup rival Pete Burling.
Fletcher said: "I'm really looking forward to getting back out and racing on Sydney Harbour. It's where SailGP started for me in season one, so being back here feels great. The team is in a strong position with two podium finishes, and we're aiming to carry that momentum into another solid weekend performance.
"The conditions could be pretty wild, with Sunday potentially bringing a southerly buster. I haven't experienced one before, but we've heard a lot about it.
"For every event, our goal is to reach the final. It has been disappointing to make it to two finals without securing the win, but we've learned a lot from those experiences. If we get into the final this time, we'll definitely come out swinging for that top step on the podium."
The 12 teams got a taste of what the Sydney Harbour racecourse has to offer during practice racing on Friday. It got off to a dramatic start, with the USA team capsizing while towing to the racecourse, thankfully no injuries were sustained and crews are working to assess and repair any damage to the F50.
Joining Fletcher in the British team for the Sydney event will be three Olympic gold medallists -Hannah Mills (Strategist), Iain Jensen (Wing Trimmer) and Ellie Aldridge (Reserve Strategist) - as well as three-time America's Cup athletes Neil Hunter (Grinder), Nick Hutton (Trimmer/Grinder) and Luke Parkinson (Flight Controller). Finn World Cup winner Ben Cornish joins the crew with a dual role as Reserve Grinder and Performance Analyst, supporting Coach Rob Wilson with data analysis and strategy alongside the Athena Pathway Youth America's Cup Helm Nick Robins. London teenager and Youth Sport Trust's Young Sportsperson of the Year Kai Hockley will once again be with the team as he progresses through his development programme, gaining experience both on and off the water.
Ahead of the weekend's action-packed race schedule, Emirates GBR has been connecting with local business leaders, government representatives and industry trailblazers to discuss sustainability in sport and business. As last season's winners of SailGP's Impact League, a leaderboard which tracks teams' efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and boost inclusivity in sailing, Emirates GBR aims to use its platform for good in each race location.
On Thursday, the team hosted an event with the British government's GREAT Campaign to share its learnings on sustainability and encourage organisations to drive change together. British Consul General in Sydney Louise Cantillon hosted the event and was joined by Emirates GBR athletes Dylan Fletcher and Hannah Mills as well as Lottie Dalziel, Founder and CEO of Australian recycling programme Banish. Fletcher and Mills detailed the team's projects to reduce waste including creating removable branding patches for its lifejackets with its supplier Spinlock to enable them to be updated rather than replaced entirely, repurposing existing kit with new logos and rebranding locally rather than shipping to and from events and upcycling old team base branding into bespoke bags with Ocean Republic.
On Friday morning, Emirates GBR CMO/CCO Jo Grindley spoke on a panel with Team Australia athlete Nina Curtis at SailGP's Champions for Change event in Sydney. Jo discussed the positive influence sport can have on the next generation. As well as her role with Emirates GBR, Jo is also CEO of the 1851 Trust, the award-winning and free-to-use digital education platform which uses the context and inspiration of sport to bring STEM and climate education to life.
The KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix takes place on Saturday and Sunday, with 12 teams on the start line for the first time in the 2025 Season as France returns with its brand new F50 race boat. UK viewers can catch the action live on TNT Sports from 04:00 GMT.
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