The SailGP World Sailing League has news from its transfer market almost daily in the run-up to Christmas. This also applies to the Germany SailGP team, as YACHT online already reported here. It is now officially clear that the new wing trimmer in the German racing team comes from the country that last hosted the Olympics: Kevin Peponnet, 470 World Champion and two-time winner of the Tour de France à la Voile, will be the new man at the side of driver Erik Kosegarten-Heil after his predecessor Stu Bithell moved to Team Emirates GBR.
SailGP personnel carousel: Peponnet for black-red-gold
At the first event of the new SailGP season on 17 and 18 January in the Australian high-wind area of Perth, the two-time 49er Olympic bronze medallist from Germany and the Frenchman will compete in their first regatta together under the black, red and gold flag. In the French team, Peponnet was not only known as a long-term travelling companion of helmsman Quentin Delapierre, but was as effective a wing trimmer as he was technically on the ball as a material scientist and engineer.
Kevin Peponnet is dedicating his skills to the German team in SailGP season six. The new year will show whether the 34-year-old, who was born in Saint-Jean-de-Luz and lives with his family in Marseille, can help Team Germany continue the strong upward trend achieved in the second half of the season.
Meanwhile, a look back at the completed fifth season shows in numbers just how far the league has come. "This season has strengthened SailGP's position as a global leader in sport and entertainment, with record crowds and world-class racing taking our championship to new heights," said SailGP Managing Director Andrew Thompson in a year-end review. He added: "In just five seasons, we have exceeded all the key targets we set ourselves in 2019: We doubled the number of teams and events while increasing annual spectator numbers and revenue by 12 and 20 times respectively since the first season."
A historic SailGP debut and Sassnitz high on the agenda
With twelve Grand Prix events and four new venues - Portsmouth, Sassnitz, Geneva and Auckland - the league directed by Russell Coutts served up a full year. Twelve teams took part, including Red Bull Italy and Mubadala Brazil, two new national teams with international reinforcements. Brazil's debut was historic, with two-time Olympic champion Martine Grael becoming the first female helmswoman to compete in the SailGP.
Fans flocked to watch the action live. Over 112,000 tickets were sold - 25,000 in Auckland and 20,000 in Portsmouth. Sassnitz also impressed at the German premiere with around 13,000 tickets sold at the first attempt. Even at the final in Abu Dhabi, it was rumoured that the German Sail Grand Prix was one of the most exciting of the year.
Around 10,000 visitors enjoyed an adrenaline lounge experience in the front row at SailGP events. Onshore entertainment in the pop-up stadiums, live music and interactive fan zones contributed to the events achieving an average "Net Promoter Score" (editor's note: key figure for measuring customer loyalty and satisfaction) of +58. At +80 and +72, Auckland and Sassnitz were well above the industry standard!
SailGP: 13 teams for the new season
The number of viewers worldwide rose to almost 215 million, an average of 18 million per event. The digital channels also experienced a boom, with 1.65 billion views on social media, 20.7 million interactions and over one million YouTube subscribers. SailGP's first premium documentary series, "Uncharted", reached over four million viewers worldwide.
"Innovation," the league organisers summed up, "drove both performance and sustainability. Titanium T-Foils helped the teams break the 100 km/h barrier, with Rockwool Racing setting a new record of 103.93 km/h. Off the water, SailGP continued to set the benchmark with 100% clean energy events and 33,261 young people engaging through SailGP Inspire."
The new season starts with the twelve familiar teams and one new one. The Swedish racing team Artemis Racing will increase the number of SailGP participants to 13 nations. "As SailGP enters a new era, we are very grateful for our growing family of partners and teams," said Thompson. The manager also promised: "Together we are reshaping the sport and the sponsorship landscape and have plans to continue to grow in the coming years and beyond."
Pretty cheeky! Alex Hobern and Stevie Morrison comment on the latest transfers in the SailGP and wonder if Kevin Peponnet's English is good enough for the new job in the German team, which has English as its on-board language:
