After six years honing boat and crew – supported by SAP analytics – the team has crossed the finish as overall champions in the 2017 series.

Eight world-class teams, 10 months of competition and eight racing venues from China to Mexico. After six years of hard work, the SAP Extreme Sailing Team has arrived on their ultra-high speed foiling GC32 catamaran at the pinnacle of multihull stadium racing.

At the finals in Los Cabos, Mexico, on December 4, the team took the series trophy home for the first time. The Danish team sponsored by SAP has been in the challenge for the cup since 2012, led by co-skippers Jes Gram-Hansen and Rasmus Køstner. This year, Auckland-born Adam Minoprio joined the team as helmsman.

Chipping Away at Victory, Race by Race

“It has been a great journey with SAP and we are so happy to share this victory with them,” said Jes Gram-Hansen, who is now coach of the team. “SAP has been given us from day one such big support on all fronts. The ability to review and analyze our performance on the SAP Sailing Analytics has proved invaluable this season – from race to race we are able to identify areas where we can make improvements and optimize our strategy and planning.

Stefan Lacher, head of Sponsorship Innovations since 2011, when the company entered into its first technology sponsorship in sailing, was thrilled about the news: “Having worked with the team over the past six years, we received top-notch sailing expertise and were able to further enhance SAP Sailing Analytics.

The Role of SAP Sailing Analytics

SAP Sailing Analytics provide insights and transparency to the world of sailing. The teams are able to analyze the races on SAPSailing.com and review real time analytics around race rankings, speeds, maneuvers, bearings and more. The solutions run on the SAP Cloud Platform.

The following video shows how the team applies SAP Sailing Analytics to optimize their performance during the race and identify areas of improvement afterwards.

“Sailing is a very dynamic and technical sport and we’ve seen great developments on the Extreme Sailing Series with the new ultra-high speed foiling catamarans,” notes Stefan. “As the boats get faster, the teams rely on even more technology to be able to review and analyze the races and plan their next strategy.”

The tools provided by SAP not only help sailors analyze performance and optimize strategy, but also to bring fans closer to the action and provide the media with information and insights to deliver a better-informed commentary.

Stay Tuned for 2018

Lacher and Jes Gram-Hansen are already looking to the next season of Extreme Sailing.

“We cannot wait for the new season to kick off and to further collaborate with SAP,” said Gram-Hansen.

Stefan Lacher: “We have some exciting developments planned for the next years and are looking forward to further collaborate with the team and the Extreme Sailing Series.”