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© Felix Diemer for SailGP
After the podium in Halifax and a second consecutive Final in Portsmouth, the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team continued its European campaign across two racecourses at opposite ends of the spectrum: Sassnitz, with strong winds and record-breaking speeds, and Valencia, where extreme heat, very light breeze and constant shifts in pressure turned every manoeuvre into an exercise in precision.
Neither event brought another place in the Final, but both reinforced a feeling that is now clear on board: the gap to the leading teams has narrowed, and Sébastien Schneiter’s crew arrives at its home event with a very different level of confidence compared with the beginning of the season.
On 22 and 23 August, the ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix brought SailGP back to what once again proved to be one of the fastest racecourses on the circuit.
Saturday delivered an extraordinary show. In strong, gusty winds and with the 18-metre wings in use, DS Automobiles Team France set a new all-time SailGP speed record of 107.63 km/h, surpassing the previous mark that had also been recorded in Sassnitz.
In these extreme conditions, the Swiss team immediately showed impressive pace. In the opening race of its group, Schneiter and his crew rounded the first mark alongside the Black Foils at around 95 km/h before going on to finish second. A fifth and a fourth followed, leaving Switzerland fourth in the group at the end of the opening day, level on points with Spain.
Sunday completely changed the character of the racecourse. Heavy rain, gusts and highly irregular patches of wind made every decision even more complex. The Swiss were unable to convert the speed shown on Saturday into a place in the Final and finished the event eighth overall. Victory on the Baltic went to the Australian BONDS Flying Roos.
The final result, however, tells only part of the story. In some of the most demanding conditions encountered during the season, the Swiss F50 showed that it can compete at the front even when speed, control and split-second decision-making are pushed to the limit.
Adam Mustill / Explora Journeys Switzerland SailGP Team
Two weeks later, SailGP made its debut in Valencia. The venue changed, and so did the conditions.
Extreme heat and light, unstable winds demanded an almost completely opposite style of racing compared with Sassnitz. Keeping the F50 in flight, finding the right pressure and, above all, getting the start right became decisive.
On Saturday, the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team opened with two fifth-place finishes before improving in the third race to take second.
“It was a very technical day, with very little wind, and that makes every manoeuvre and every decision even more important,” Schneiter explained at the end of racing.
On Sunday, the breeze dropped even further and the programme was reduced to a single race for the Swiss group.
The team finished the Spain Sail Grand Prix seventh overall and fourth in its group, just four points short of qualifying for the Final. Victory went to the United States, which managed to overtake Australia in the closing stages of the Final.
Sassnitz and Valencia therefore showed two completely different sides of SailGP. First, F50s flying at more than 100 km/h. Then, an almost millimetric search for the pressure needed simply to stay in flight.
For the Swiss crew, they were two very different opportunities to confirm progress that is no longer just about speed, but increasingly about adaptability.
And now comes the event that means something more.
On 19 and 20 September, the Rolex SailGP Championship returns to Lake Geneva, where the Explora Journeys Swiss SailGP Team will race in front of its home crowd.
After finishing third here in 2025, the objective is clear: to turn the confidence built over the past few months into a first Sail Grand Prix victory.
Adam Mustill / Explora Journeys Switzerland SailGP Team
Adam Mustill / Explora Journeys Switzerland SailGP Team
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