SailGP: The conductor in conversation - Tim Krieglstein ahead of the German premiere
Tim, the first SailGP summit in a German sailing area will take place on 16 and 17 August off Rügen. What is your impression of the preparations in Sassnitz?
I have the impression that the people of Sassnitz work professionally, well and calmly with a view to the big task. The SailGP as a whole has grown enormously in recent years. The league has been chasing its own ambitious schedule for five years and has achieved inhuman things in the process. What has been built up is now being expanded. The stadiums and stands are growing everywhere. In Sassnitz, the stands have been enlarged three times and now seat around 6,000 spectators per day.
Even before the kick-off, the question of whether the league will return to Germany next year and perhaps back to Sassnitz is also being discussed. A European tour stop has yet to be organised for the new season. What are the chances of a German comeback?
Yes, there is another European slot. It's in the calendar. It's no longer about Sassnitz versus Kiel, but also about other European countries. The situation is not clear at the moment. In my opinion, it will increase our chances if we can make a decision quickly. Then we can secure the event for 2026/2027. As the German team, we are very clear that we need an event in Germany. We believe that this is incredibly important to promote the sport in Germany, to promote us. ZDF also says: We need an event in Germany so that we can develop the sport of sailing. We can't do that if it doesn't take place in our own country.
We need an event in Germany." Tim Krieglstein
What are the economic conditions like?
Depending on the venue, an event costs the SailGP five and a half to six million US dollars. With all the trimmings. The question for the Northern European races is rather: Where are the losses the lowest? Valencia, as a potential venue, has now offered significant sums in the millions. Something is possible in the south of Europe. The venues in New Zealand, Australia or the Middle East are all events that are now earning money. We know that Northern Europe is very important in terms of the media and its markets. But everything has its limits...
How do you rate Germany's chances?
We are in good dialogue with the state, the city and the region. Our aim is to have everything clear by the time of the event in Sassnitz. In principle, SailGP would like to set up and repeat venues. Even on the same weekend. Germany is an important SailGP market. It will therefore also depend on what can be presented as an offer.
SailGP: Sailing without brakes
How do you feel about the choice of Sassnitz as the venue?
I am a big fan of destination events. Firstly, they are attractive for the region because they have an economic impact. Everyone who comes is also on site for longer. We have every guest on site for at least two days. This results in a completely different level of intensity for and with the people who come to the event. That's a great opportunity. Why are we there? Firstly, because SailGP has such high demands not only on the sailing areas, but also on the land areas. There aren't that many options in Germany. Only Kiel with compromises on the land side and on the techside. That leaves Sassnitz: a good spot with opportunities for stadium racing. Point two: there has been total enthusiasm in Sassnitz since day one.
The audience is right at the finish line, with the action right in front of them. It's totally exciting!" Tim Krieglstein
How do you explain the Sail Grand Prix to people who are not yet familiar with this fast-paced sailing racing series?
The SailGP is racing without brakes! The SailGP is the right event for anyone who wants to see twelve teams compete against each other in a very confined space with large racing machines. It's dramatic, exciting and action-packed! And it's a team sport. With the SailGP, the old incomprehensibility of sailing with boats that zigzag is gone. The races are easy to follow with powerful animations. The races are short and numerous, lasting only 15 or 16 minutes. There will be eight races this coming weekend. SailGP is tangible, very close to the shore.
That certainly also applies to your team and driver Erik Kosegarten-Heil. He was on the podium twice at the Olympics, but now has to fight for promotion with your team in the league of the world's best sailing teams...
That's how it is. In addition to skill, experience and perseverance, it also takes staying power. What I find particularly striking about Erik is that he has an incredible amount of mental and manual input to process and manage. He constantly has to keep an eye on the course, screen, boat, crew and competition, and act and react. In Formula 1, for example, an engineer talks to the driver during the race. In the SailGP, there are two coaches and the entire crew communicating with each other.
I sometimes make the comparison with Erik: he's like someone who rides a bull and has to get the thread through the eye of a needle again and again." Tim Krieglstein
Next weekend, the Sail Sassnitz public festival will take place in the same harbour as the SailGP German premiere. The town of 9000 inhabitants will be bursting at the seams...
It will be an extraordinary weekend, a real experience! The harbour will be full of boats, and the atmosphere will be accordingly.
Demanding ascent in the SailGP
Your driver Erik Kosegarten-Heil was hoping to "make a real statement" with the Germany SailGP Team at their home race in Sassnitz. The course of what is only the second SailGP season for your still young team has been mixed so far. There have been setbacks such as the thunderstorm of penalties in Sydney. Team Germany is in penultimate place in the season championship before the Sassnitz summit. How do you see the team developing?
We have learnt how difficult it still is to perform consistently as a team. This must always be considered against the background that there are hardly any training opportunities on the league boats. We only had six training days this season, so six times three hours, not full days. We can see that we are making progress as a team when we look at the data, but we can't yet put it all together in the races.
How do you experience the public perception of your team in Germany?
Quite different from the first season! And so there is an opportunity for the whole sport of sailing. There's Boris Herrmann, of course, the offshore sport and the Ocean Race Europe, which is currently underway, but also Olympic sailing and a national league. We are the inshore racing sport. If we all stand together, we can really push sailing in Germany forward. Our ZDF partnership gives us the opportunity to give sailing a different perception overall. ZDF will be broadcasting live to and from Sassnitz with the lunchtime magazine programme and then twice more for two hours.
If it turns out the way we think it will, it's going to be amazing!" Tim Krieglstein
Apart from your ambitions in the SailGP Season Championship and the SailGP Sustainability League Impact League, what other goals are you pursuing?
We want to show more athletes. We want to show that sailing can be a professional career path. We want to promote the sport of foiling. We want to promote the sport of sailing as a whole. We are a building block in this endeavour.
We can be signallers." Tim Krieglstein
The SailGP is still missing something that Formula 2 and Formula 3 have: a class below the SailGP in which you would have to compete with similar teams. In which I have the chance to introduce more athletes to this league and competitive sport. Such a class would lead to more sport being offered within the league. Let's call it an F30 league for the sake of understanding. In which you would have one boat, of which there might be ten in Europe, ten in America and ten in Asia. That would be a sensible and exciting expansion for the future.
The SailGP series has developed enormously since its inception...
SailGP has established itself in its first five years. It's not going anywhere. All teams have just signed the participation agreement for the next five years.
But the SailGP basic laws remain the same?
The main features remain unchanged. The budget limit is ten million US dollars per year. A little less than half of this goes to the league. The participation fees are less than 500,000 per year. This includes the provision of the boats, logistics, shared services, support boats, team bases plus central departments. We ourselves only have three shore crew members. A little less than 5.5 million US dollars are for our own team costs. We own the team licence. You could also sell it on.
SailGP: Added value for the teams
According to the league, teams were recently sold for more than 50 million euros...
Yes, today new team owners pay more than three times as much for the licence as when we first joined. The bidding process for teams number 13 and 14 for next season is currently underway. The league is assuming that 60 or 70 million US dollars will be paid for team licences. There are also teams like France, Great Britain and Brazil that are already earning money.
The Germany SailGP team is owned by Thomas Riedel, four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, e-sports legend Ralf Reichert and Wacken Open Air founder Holger Hübner. But would you like to have more partners in addition to Deutsche Bank and other supporters?
So far, we have only covered 50 per cent of the costs. Deutsche Bank is a bank for us, a great partner! That also applies to the entire Road to Sassnitz. They do a lot. And they do it well. But we need more supporters. Sport is predestined for this and offers a convincing sustainability aspect with the Impact League.
The SailGP radius is getting bigger and bigger." Tim Krieglstein
For the first time, an inclusive sailing regatta will take place in Sassnitz as part of a SailGP event - initiated and organised by us in close partnership with the Wir sind Wir - Inclusion in Sailing association. With this project under the motto "All aboard", we are sending a strong signal in favour of inclusion, diversity and accessibility to top-class sport. We have many other ideas, such as a hydrogen-powered boat that we have developed with a boat builder. We need partners for this. We currently have events at the European races in Sassnitz, St. Tropez and Geneva, which we expect many guests to attend.
Sebastian Vettel is a co-owner of your team. The SailGP as a whole has also greatly increased its "celebrity factor" with world-class athletes such as Kylian Mbappé in the French team and Hollywood celebrities such as Ryan Reynolds and Anne Hathaway in the teams' ownership groups...
The Hollywood sports star factor has become an integral part of modern sport as entertainment. People follow people. It is a key factor in raising the SailGP profile and being successful. That is the goal we are working towards and working hard at all levels.
SailGP live broadcast from Sassnitz on ZDF
Lilli Engels will be reporting live from Sassnitz in the ZDF lunchtime magazine on 15 August from 12.10 pm and 2 pm. The "sportstudio live" programme will broadcast the racing action on Saturday (3.15 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.) and Sunday (3.05 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.). Click here for the live link for the weekend.
