SailGP : les dernières infos Tip & Shaft

DS Automobiles officially announced on Thursday its commitment as the title partner of the France SailGP Team, a first on the circuit for a car brand. Sailorz spoke with Bastien Schupp, Marketing and Communications Director of the premium brand of the Stellantis group, about the reasons behind this partnership.

Fourth in Season 3, seventh in Season 4, and fifth in 2025, the French SailGP team wants to reach a new milestone in 2026, with the objective of finally reaching the Grand Final. To achieve this, several changes were made during the off-season, including the arrival of a new team manager, Philippe Presti, and a modified crew. Sailorz takes stock just one week before the kickoff of the new season in Perth (January 17-18).

SailGP announced on Thursday the transfer of Kévin Péponnet, who is leaving the French team to join Germany SailGP Team, led by Erik Heil, still as wing trimmer. An opportunity for Sailorz to speak with the 34-year-old sailor.

Sixth in the two Grands Prix it has contested so far, in Sydney and Los Angeles last week (Canada won), and in the overall ranking of SailGP, the French team is back on deck this weekend for the Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix. An opportunity to chat with team manager Bruno Dubois, who is also co-director with Stephan Kandler of K-Challenge and Orient Express Racing Team.

2024 was a fantastic year for Spaniards Diego Botin and Florian Trittel: three weeks after winning SailGP’s season 4 in San Francisco, they were crowned 49er Olympic champions in Marseille, then elected World Sailing Sailor of the Year in early November. Before the start of the new SailGP’s season this weekend in Dubai, Tip & Shaft talked with Diego Botin (30), skipper of Spain SailGP Team.

Season 4 of SailGP draws to a close on Saturday and Sunday with the Grand Prix of San Francisco, which will culminate in the grand final between the top three finishers in the ranking overall. An opportunity for Tip & Shaft to talk to Julien Di Biase, SailGP’s chief operations officer.  

By holding his own against some of the best English-speaking crews, Quentin Delapierre has certainly left his mark on the third season of the SailGP circuit. At the age of just 31, the sailor from Vannes in Brittany well and truly earned his stripes in the elite group of international sailing. In 2024, he will be the helmsman on the French Orient Express Team’s AC75 in the America’s Cup. Time to analyse this amazing success story on the eve of the of the final stage in San Francisco this weekend, with Bruno Dubois, director of SailGP France, Guillaume Chiellino, the French Sailing Federation’s technical director, his fellow sailors, Manon Audinet, Matthieu Salomon and Thomas Coville, the trainer, Thierry Douillard and the journalist Christophe Favreau.

After their grand slam a month ago in Sydney, Quentin Delapierre’s French team compete on Saturday and Sunday at the penultimate Grand Prix of SailGP season 3 in Christchurch (New Zealand). Tip & Shaft take the chance to talk to Thierry Douillard, coach of Les Bleus, a role he will also fulfil within the French America’ Cup challenge, Orient Express Team. 

Just six weeks or so after the end of Season 2 which was won, like season 1, by Tom Slingsby’s Australia, already Season 3 of SailGP looms large on the horizon. It is mustering ten teams and will be contested over eleven stages. It begins this weekend with the Bermuda Grand Prix. Tip & Shaft tells you more about this flourishing circuit.

After competing in his first crewed Transatlantic Race in January aboard the Mylius 60 Lady First 3, Christopher Pratt is about to embark on the Rorc Caribbean 600, a race through the West Indies which starts on Monday with the same crew. It is a great opportunity to catch up with the bi-lingual skipper from Marseille who has English family….. 

A week ago the French SailGP team announced that they have replaced skipper Billy Besson with 2020 Nacra 17 Olympian Quentin Delapierre. Team manager Bruno Dubois explains the change Tip & Shaft.