SailGP, the global racing championship, has announced a significant upgrade to its fleet of F50 catamarans. Starting in January 2025, the entire fleet will be equipped with new high-speed T-Foils, replacing the existing L-Foils used since the league’s inception in 2019. 

The new T-Foils, constructed from machined titanium and carbon, feature thinner sections than their predecessors, reducing drag at high speeds. This upgrade is expected to result in record-breaking speeds and more competitive racing. During testing in San Francisco, the Canada SailGP team reached up to 101.98km/h in a 32km/h wind speed, marking it the fastest speed ever recorded on an F50. 

Credit: Simon Bruty for SailGP

SailGP CEO Russell Coutts describes the development as a “game changer”, highlighting the improved control at high speeds and better overall performance. “One of the big surprises has been the increased performance when sailing upwind, approximately 5.5km/h faster,” he says.

The upgrade aims to ‘level the playing field for new and existing teams’, as all crews will need to adapt to the new foils. This could potentially shake up the current team rankings and create unexpected results for the upcoming season. Earlier this year, the Spanish team took the grand final title for the previous season.

Safety was a key consideration in the T-Foil design. The outer tips, which extend beyond the hulls, are designed to break off in the event of a high-impact collision between boats. This feature addresses damage from high negative loads experienced by the original foils during nose dives.

SailGP is also developing new light-wind foils to be tested later this year in Dubai. These are designed to allow F50s to begin foiling at wind speeds almost 3km/h lower than currently possible. Coutts expects this innovation to significantly impact racing. He explains: “It will provide faster-paced, more entertaining racing for the athletes and fans in lighter winds and provide greater certainty of racing within the targeted broadcast window – irrespective of conditions.”
 
The 2025 SailGP season will be the league’s most far-reaching yet, featuring events spanning five continents. The season five opener is scheduled for 23-24 November in Dubai, with 11 national teams set to compete. Brazil is the first of the new teams to be confirmed ahead of the season. A twelfth team will join the fleet at the second event, the ITM New Zeland Sail Grand Prix, in Auckland in January 2025, coinciding with the introduction of the new T-Foils. 

Images and video courtesy of SailGP.

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