Top match racer and Olympian adds new dimension to Kiwi SailGP and AC teams

SailGP: Prime match racer and Olympian provides new dimension to Kiwi SailGP and AC groups

by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World NZ 11 Nov 18:54 PST
12 November 2024

The Peter Burling/Blair Tuke led SailGP crew, the Black Foils, have introduced a substitute for the lately departed flight controller/trimmer Andy Maloney.

Maloney introduced in late October that he can be leaving the New Zealand SailGP team to affix the brand new Brazilian SailGP crew, skippered by double Olympic Gold medalist, Martine Grael. Maloney has received three America’s Cup as a flight controller/trimmer with Emirates Workforce New Zealand, together with Burling and Tuke. He’s additionally a winner of the Finn Gold Cup, the premier trophy in single handed crusing, and left an enormous gap in each the SailGP and AC groups.

Leo Takahashi (NZL/JPN), a prime match racer and Tokyo2020 Olympic consultant within the 49er class will be part of the crew on a three-season contract as Flight Controller. He was a co-helmsman and skipper of the Emirates Workforce New Zealand Youth AC40 crew within the Youth America’s Cup sailed in Barcelona. Takahashi (25yrs) is the son of Robert Fry a prime New Zealand sailor, earlier than shifting to Japan, the place he was outstanding on the offshore racing scene, and with the Japanese America’s Cup groups. On the age of 19yrs, Takahashi was ranked twenty fifth within the World Match Racing Tour standings for skipper/helmsmen.

A graduate of the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron Youth program, Takahashi was outstanding in worldwide youth match racing in NZ, Australia and USA. He was a part of an Australian led crew on the 2021 Congressional Cup, the worlds pre-eminent and oldest match racing occasion carried out by the Lengthy Seaside Yacht Membership.

Maloney was considered one of three new hires introduced by the Brazilian crew which is considered one of a number of SailGP groups that are privately owned, and are new to the circuit this Season 5, which will get underway in Dubai in late November. The opposite two had been Leigh McMillan a flight controller with the America’s Cup Challenger INEOS Britannia, and Richard Mason who sailed with the INEOS Britannia crew within the 2021 America’s Cup and extra lately in SailGP groups.

A number of groups have introduced acquisition by personal possession for quantities mentioned to be within the USD$40-60million vary or extra. Their house owners/managers have engaged in a recruitment train which has seen a number of abrupt actions to roles throughout the privately owned. Aside from Maloney, essentially the most outstanding transfer was that of INEOS Britannia Head of Crusing, Giles Scott, who was additionally the skipper helmsman of the Emirates GBR SailGP crew, alongside along with his America’s Cup duties.

SailGP are tipping {that a} outstanding Australian sailor has additionally been enticed to affix an as but unnamed rival crew.

A function of the recruitment has been the willingness of prime SailGP sailors to maneuver to decrease ranked groups, prompting the America’s Cup adage “if you would like the reality, observe the cash”, implying that beneficiant pay-packets are on provide, and being accepted.

Whereas SailGP has had some tight nationality guidelines, these have been eased for Season 5, permitting three non-nationals to sail in a crew, scaling again if whole crew numbers are lowered for racing in lighter winds. The easing of nationality guidelines has facilitated the pinnacle looking from SailGP and America’s Cup groups. The Cup groups are actually in a state of limbo with the announcement within the weekend that every one crusing aside from within the AC40 one designs can be prohibited for a interval of 12months. The following venue, Protocol and Model 3 of the AC75 Class rule are but to be introduced. The following America’s Cup will probably be sailed in 2027, a 12 months later than initially indicated.

A possible change to the crew guidelines for the America’s Cup is prone to end in cyclors being changed by battery energy, however with the general crew crusing numbers remaining the identical. Takahashi’s transfer to the Kiwi SailGP crew and certain the core of the Emirates Workforce New Zealand crusing crew, brings a depth of match racing expertise to each teams. In widespread with the opposite ETNZ crew members Burling, Tuke and co-helmsman Nathan Outteridge, Takahashi has competed within the 49er skiffs at Olympic degree.

It has not been introduced if Maloney’s shift to the Brazilian SailGP crew represents his exit from the Kiwi America’s Cup crew. Nevertheless for all skilled sailors, their capability to sail in each the America’s Cup and SailGP over the subsequent three years might grow to be quite extra vexed, with the introduced intention for SailGP to broaden from 14 occasions in Season 5 to 18 occasions or extra in subsequent seasons.

After the conclusion of racing in Barcelona, the America’s Cup supremos’ introduced that the AC40 one design fleet will probably be used extra extensively for preliminary racing. That competitors together with the between-Cup AC75 fleet and match racing, to is crucial to carry the visibility of the America’s Cup groups and sponsor funding return.

If the 2 rival circuits’ ambitions do play out – then the skilled crusing calendar will grow to be very congested – and close to unattainable to sail in each, significantly when testing necessities within the current and new AC75s for the 2027 America’s Cup are taken into consideration.

An announcement launched by the Black Foils says: “Takahashi was a member of the Japan SailGP Workforce for Season 1 and a pair of, as a Grinder and Flight Controller, and Season 4 noticed Takahashi transition to the USA SailGP Workforce as Flight Controller. With a wealth of worldwide expertise so early in his profession, together with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the 25-year-old is poised to make a robust influence as he takes on his latest problem with the Black Foils, which incorporates racing in entrance of a house crowd on the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland on January 18-19.

“I used to be a bit shocked truly,” Takahashi mentioned of discovering out he made the Black Foils crew. “And now I’m simply elated, it’s an actual honour. I’m excited at what we’ll have the ability to obtain as a crew over the subsequent few seasons.”

On crusing with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, Takashi says: “It’s each child’s dream to sail with their heroes, I believe it has been actually cool how they’ve taken me in and been so supportive.”

Tuke, Black Foils’ co-CEO and Wing Trimmer, mentioned he’s excited to have Takahashi be part of the crew for a three-season deal: “It’s been a pleasure to see him develop as an athlete over the previous few years and it’s improbable to have such a younger expertise be part of our crew as we proceed to push the Black Foils to the subsequent degree.”

Born in Japan however raised in New Zealand, Takahashi’s profession started as an eight-year-old the place he learnt to sail at Murrays Bay in Auckland. He rapidly started aggressive crusing, competing in three Optimist World Championships. As a teen, Takahashi joined the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron youth coaching program and received nationwide and worldwide youth match racing championships.

Takahashi was additionally a part of the Reside Ocean Racing crew that competed within the ETF26 collection in Europe in 2022 and 2024, alongside Black Foils crew member Liv Mackay. Most lately, he sailed for Emirates Workforce New Zealand within the 2024 Youth America’s Cup.

Talking to his ardour for SailGP, Takahashi says, “It’s altering the game and the format is admittedly thrilling to me. You possibly can’t actually look previous the boats. They’re a number of the quickest boats on the planet, and it will be much more thrilling with 12 boats on the road in Auckland this January!”

Takahashi’s first season with the Black Foils will kick off in Dubai on November 23-24, 2024 earlier than returning to race in entrance of a house crowd for the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland in January.