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 and the remainder of the 2025 Season.
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."
Tom Slingsby, Australia SailGP Team Driver and CEO commented on the news saying, "We're gutted not to be racing in Rio next month — it's such an epic venue and we were really looking forward to putting on a show for the Brazilian fans. But at the end of the day, this is 100% the right call. Athlete safety has to come first, and I back SailGP's decision to take the time to properly investigate the issue they have discovered from our wing collapse in San Fran, to make sure the boats are in top shape before we hit the water again in New York.
"I've got full confidence the league will get the repairs sorted in time so we can have our Aussie comeback in New York", Slingsby added.
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.
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