Aussie America's Cup champion Jimmy Spithill has joined team USA as their new helmsman and CEO for the upcoming season of the SailGP.<\/p>\n
Spithill will lead team USA as it fights to claim the sport's largest monetary prize of $1.3 million when the global league returns for the start of its second season at the Bermuda Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Rome Kirby, who previously led the team from inception as helm, will shift to the flight controller position.<\/p>\n
The move will see Rome Kirby shift to flight controller, making the U.S. the only team to have a former F50 helm flying the boat.<\/p>\n
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Spithill is widely regarded as one of the sport's top athletes in high-performance racing, having spent the last two decades competing in the America's Cup.<\/p>\n
He served as skipper of Oracle Team USA for more than 10 years, during which time he delivered two America's Cup wins.<\/p>\n
Born in Australia, Spithill permanently resides in San Diego, California, and currently competes with the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team \u2013 a challenger for the 36th America's Cup.<\/p>\n
"We couldn't be more excited to have not only an amazing sailor, but also one of the greatest competitors, join SailGP," SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts said.<\/p>\n
"Jimmy brings a massive amount of experience and skill to the U.S. team and even further cements our position as the sport's pinnacle league. Make no mistake \u2013 we have the best sailors in the world competing in the most exciting format."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"