The most exciting racing on water, SailGP, will make its hotly-anticipated Brazilian debut in Rio de Janeiro May 3-4, 2025. Martine Grael will drive for the first Brazilian team – a historic first for the global racing championship.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL-Rio de Janeiro will host the inaugural Brazilian SailGP event, the renowned international sail racing championship known as the most exciting racing on water. The Enel Rio Sail Grand Prix will take place on May 3-4, 2025 in Guanabara Bay, in front of the stunning backdrop of Sugarloaf Mountain and the iconic Rio skyline.
In a significant development for the global racing championship and Brazilian sailing, two-time Olympic gold medalist Martine Grael has been selected as driver for the nation’s SailGP team – the first female driver since the league’s inception in 2019. SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts celebrated Grael’s appointment, hailing the Brazilians as “a serious contender” in the 2024/2025 Season.
“We’re delighted to announce not only the home of SailGP’s first-ever Brazilian event, but to confirm Martine Grael as driver for the nation’s first SailGP team. Martine is an incredible talent and has shown she can win at the highest levels of elite sailing,” Coutts said.
Continuing, “Brazil has a highly-engaged fan base that loves racing. SailGP will redefine the image of sailing in Brazil, attracting an entirely new audience of followers. We know the people of Rio will add their special Brazilian flair to the event, getting behind Martine, the Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team and enjoying the adrenaline-fuelled atmosphere our events are becoming known for.”
Grael said, “I am very honored to have received this invitation to lead the Brazilian SailGP Team. It is a new and challenging project, being the first woman to drive a SailGP boat. We will start a new chapter in the competition that brings together the best in the world, at the same time that Rio de Janeiro launches its first stage. It could not be a better moment for our team.”
To date, 37 women have raced onboard F50s, with most SailGP teams having an active roster of three female athletes alongside their male counterparts. Grael and the Brazilian team will join a confirmed line-up of 11 national teams on the startline in November, battling it out in identical high-tech, high-speed 50-foot foiling catamarans. Grael will get her first experience behind the wheel of an F50 this month at a training camp for select teams in Bermuda. The full Brazil team line-up will be unveiled soon.
Racing full circle around the world, SailGP’s 2024-25 SailGP season will be the league’s most expansive to date with events spanning five continents. Kicking off in Dubai on November 23-24, 2024, the series will make stops in world-class destinations, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Geneva. The Enel Rio Sail Grand Prix follows the acquisition of the first-ever South American team, the Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team, announced earlier this year. The action-packed weekend is set to be a landmark moment in the history of the state, which has a century-long tradition of hosting major sporting events.
Brazilian sports and entertainment firm IMM will organize the Enel Rio Sail Grand Prix, together with Brazilian sailing confederation, CBVela. Owned by ex-Brazilian Olympic sailor, Alan Adler (President), IMM’s portfolio includes some of Brazil’s most iconic events, including the Rio Open, Cirque Du Soleil and São Paulo Fashion Week. The firm will also operate the Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team.
Adler, who is also CEO of Brazil Motor Sports, promoter of the São Paulo Grand Prix Formula 1 race, said, “We are very happy to announce Rio de Janeiro as the venue for one of the SailGP stages. It has always been our dream to have the Brazilian team participating in a stage close to the fans, who are passionate about high-level sports. SailGP, a new professional league, synonymous with innovation, technology, speed and a serious commitment to environmental preservation, will certainly captivate the public. It will be a high-level competition with Guanabara Bay as the natural stage, with the beauty of Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer. The perfect stage for this open-air spectacle.”
Celebrating the news at a media event in Rio, Damian Popolo, Director of External Relations and Sustainability at Enel Brasil, Title Partner for the event, said: “We are committed to contributing to actions that generate social impact in all regions where we operate. In Rio de Janeiro, we are one of the main supporters of sports and culture initiatives that promote development in the state. That is why we joined SailGP to bring the global sailing championship to South America for the first time, once again projecting Rio onto the international sports scene”.
Rio’s Mayor, Eduardo Paes said, “Hosting the inaugural stage of the SailGP, which is coming to South America for the first time, reinforces Rio de Janeiro’s international calling to attract major events, not only in sports, but also in music and culture, not to mention the fact that Rio is the capital of the G20 in 2024 and, in November, will bring together the heads of state of the world’s largest economies. The city has regained its leading role on the world stage and Guanabara Bay could not be a better setting for this competition. We will be waiting with open arms for the athletes and fans.”
