Team Germany misses the final: Excitement at the SailGP in Sassnitz!

Team Germany misses the final: Excitement at the SailGP in Sassnitz!

On August 17, 2025, the SailGP in Sassnitz offered an exciting second day of competition that kept spectators on the edge of their seats until the last second. Team Germany, led by skipper Erik Kosegarten-Heil, started the final fleet race in third place, but despite a promising start, was able to drop to eighth place due to changing winds. This position ultimately meant fifth place overall for the German team at their home event. They remain in second-to-last place in the season standings, but were able to close the gap to Brazil with six points collected in Sassnitz.

The French, under helmsman Quentin Delapierre, triumphed after a turbulent weekend. After a setback on Friday when Delapierre was hospitalized, they staged a strong comeback to secure first place in the final ahead of Australia and Great Britain. The latter struggled throughout the day, while France fought back impressively.

Collision and technical challenges

There was a tricky situation on the first day of competition when the American team led by Taylor Canfield collided with the British F50 of Dylan Fletcher. This crashing collision, which occurred on the upwind course, damaged the American boat and eliminated the British team from the race. Strategist Hannah Mills had warned in time, but the warning came too late. Even before this incident, the French team experienced technical problems when a T-foil rudder broke off, putting rider Quentin Delapierre out of action for some time.

The weather conditions were difficult on both days of the competition. On Sunday morning, the USA experienced technical problems which prevented them from taking part in the final races while the British repaired their damage. According to Building a Sailing Sports Series, SailGP is an international sailing championship founded in 2018 by Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts with the aim of establishing a more commercially successful global sailing series.

Future prospects for Team Germany

After the competitions, Erik Heil expressed optimism about his team's progress. “We are making progress and our confidence for the season is growing,” he said. Thomas Riedel, co-owner of Team Germany, noted that the event in Sassnitz should be established in the long term. The team is also looking for a main sponsor and is in discussions about broader mediaization.

Coach Lennart Briesenick-Pudenz, on the other hand, emphasized the team's competitiveness, especially when the boat is running optimally. “We always fight, we must not give up hope,” he emphasized. The challenge of keeping up with the competition in a competitive situation remains the core topic in the discussions surrounding the team, which is fighting hard for victory in the fourth season of SailGP with now ten teams and new locations such as Germany and Brazil. The last three fleet races, which were scheduled to start on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. local time, once again promise a lot of excitement.