Stakes are high ahead of the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix

Dubai: The Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix returns to Mina Rashid on November 21 and 22, with light winds and a tight battle for the SailGP title expected to make the penultimate event of the season a demanding test for the crews.

Racing in Dubai has traditionally been tricky, with average wind speeds of 14-17km/h across the competition’s three previous visits. Such conditions can cause an F50 to lose its foils, costing a team valuable positions in a matter of seconds.

Performance data from this season points to Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos and Spain’s Los Gallos as the teams best equipped to handle the challenge. The two sides have claimed almost half of all race wins in light-air conditions this season.

Tom Slingsby’s Australians lead the statistics, recording an average finishing position of 3.2, with 10 race wins and 20 podiums from 31 races. They have also spent 61.9 per cent of their racing time foiling, the highest figure in the fleet, and registered an average boat speed of 30.38km/h.

Diego Botin’s Spanish crew are close behind, with an average finish of 3.61, nine wins and 16 podiums. Both teams have made significant improvements in conditions that previously exposed their weaknesses.

Dubai’s past results, however, offer a different picture. New Zealand’s Black Foils have won the event in 2023 and 2024 and hold the best average finishing position in the city at 3.07. They have also reached the podium in 60 per cent of their 15 Dubai races.

Australia won in Dubai in 2022 and finished second in 2023. With their place in the Grand Final already secured, Slingsby’s team must decide whether to push for another victory or conserve their position ahead of the $2 million (Dh 7.34 million) championship decider in Abu Dhabi a week later.

Tickets are available at Tickets.SailGP.com/Dubai, with waterfront grandstand and VELA Beach Club hospitality options.