After identifying a defect in select wingsails across the F50 fleet, SailGP has made the difficult decision to cancel next month’s Rio event (May 3-4) in order to facilitate required repairs ahead of New York (June 7-8) and the remainder of the 2025 Season.
The SailGP fleet. Photo: Simon Bruty for SailGP.
The issue was discovered following testing and analysis of the Australia SailGP Team’s wingsail collapse last month in San Francisco. SailGP CEO Russell Coutts has called the decision “a necessary action to take.”
Coutts said, “After thorough review, our engineers and technicians have discovered an issue with the bonding of the core material in the shear web of some of the wingsails, which could potentially compromise the structural integrity of those wingsails. As such, we’ve made the prudent choice to suspend next month’s event, giving us sufficient time to complete repairs and conduct any further investigations.”
In line with SailGP policy, all ticket holders will be fully refunded in the coming days, while the Championship considers potential options to reschedule the 2025 Rio event.
Coutts continued, “While we know this news will be hugely disappointing, the safety of our athletes is our key priority. We want to thank our passionate racing fans in Brazil for their ongoing support of SailGP and the Brazilian team, alongside our partners in the country and across the globe. It’s a big job ahead, but we’re confident we can get all 12 national teams ready to race when SailGP returns to New York in June.”
Further information will be shared as it becomes available. Tickets to all 2025 Season events are on sale now at SailGP.com/tickets. First destination details of SailGP’s 2026 Season Calendar – including an event in Rio de Janeiro – will be shared in the coming days.
