SailGP cancels event due to wing defect

After identifying a defect in select wingsails across the F50 fleet, the SailGP league has canceled the next Season 5 event – planned for May 3-4 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – in order to facilitate required repairs. Racing will resume on June 7-8 in New York, NY.

The issue was discovered following testing and analysis of the Australia SailGP Team’s wingsail collapse that occurred at the San Francisco event on March 22-23. SailGP CEO Russell Coutts has called the decision “a necessary action to take.

“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.” – Full report