SailGP's Russell Coutts on "where to from here" for the League
by Sail-World.com/nz 22 Feb 00:51 PST
Sir Russell Coutts, SailGP CEO, watches Loud Luxury on Race Day 1 of the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix in New York, Saturday June 22, 2024 © Adam Warner/SailGP
Mikkel Thommessen, editor of leading Norwegian sailing magazine Seilmagasinet recently conducted a wide ranging interview with SailGP CEO Russell Coutts.
Coutts says that SailGP has become a bigger success than he had dared to hope for, and he now wants to gradually expand to 14 and then 16 teams that will sail in two pools. He also discloses the buy-in price for a SailGP franchise, and the annual running costs of a team.
He also talks about the nationality clauses in the League, hinting that for the expansion to take place further concessions may have to be made. Coutts was less than impressed with the decision of the Canadian team not to race on the final day in Auckland after their Flight Controller was injured.