Sydney missed its shot at stealing Australia’s Formula 1 Grand Prix from Melbourne, but it has the chance to become the jewel in the crown of a another fast-growing global series after securing a SailGP stop for the next three years.
After initially being left out of the season three schedule, a Sydney Grand Prix has been added as the ninth event, squeezing between the Singapore stop in January and the New Zealand stop in March.
The two-day race weekend will be held on Sydney Harbour on February 18 and 19 next year, giving Team Australia, the two-time defending champions led by Tom Slingsby, the advantage of racing on home waters in the lead-up to the million-dollar grand final, held in San Francisco in May.
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SailGP on Friday morning announced a three-year agreement had been struck, giving Sydney a Grand Prix in season four and season five as well as next February’s event.
An estimated 20,000 people turned out to watch Slingsby’s team compete at its home event on Sydney Harbour in December last year, witnessing the team’s stunning performance to claim victory on home waters.
In a statement trumpeting the new deal, NSW’s Minister for Tourism and Sport Stuart Ayres said the event was a huge coup for the city of Sydney.
“I am delighted we have secured the Australia Sail Grand Prix on Sydney Harbour for the next three seasons, which further demonstrates that Sydney is bouncing back to life and is well-and-truly open for business,” Ayres said.
“As one of only eleven iconic locations in the global SailGP league, the Australia Sail Grand Prix will provide a significant boost to the state’s visitor economy by showcasing our spectacular Harbour City to the world.”
Slingsby, an Australian Olympic gold medallist, who is building a CV that puts him among the best sailors of all-time, was elated to have a home race to return to.
“We are stoked to be able to work with the NSW Government to secure this world class event in Australia for the next three years,” Slingsby said.
“Now having 10 F50s lined up and racing for the first time on Sydney Harbour is going to be a pretty incredible sight for fans and with the calibre of athletes we have on these boats in season three, we can expect action-packed and very close racing.
“We won in front of our home crowd at last year’s Sydney event and our team is laser focused on repeating that again for Australia.”
Slingsby’s Team Australia is currently first in the standings after winning the season-opening race weekend in Bermuda last month.
The second Grand Prix of the season will be staged in Chicago, starting this Sunday (AEST).
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