A little over a month ago, Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni were competing alongside each other as co-helmsmen aboard Italian challenger Luna Rossa’s AC75 high-performance foiling monohull at the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland, New Zealand.

Now they find themselves locking horns as rivals in the supercharged F50 wing-sailed foiling catamaran at the inaugural Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess in the Great Sound, which commenced yesterday.

Australian Spithill is the helmsman of the United States SailGP Team and Italian Bruni as flight controller with Japan SailGP Team.

“I really enjoyed being team-mates, and he [Bruni] is a tough competitor as well, so it should be fun,” Spithill, a two-times world champion and America’s Cup winner, told The Royal Gazette.Bruni, an eight-times world champion, added: “It’s been a great experience racing with Jimmy. I’ve learnt a lot and we have a very good relationship between each other, on and off the water, so it’s great to be here together in Bermuda.

“Obviously now we are racing one against the other, but I really hope the best for him and to myself as well.

“Hopefully the both of us can get up in the top three.

“Of course everybody will try to win. And we will try to beat him, but not just him, every team really. We really want to be on top of our game. The goal for us here is to be in the top three.”

Both sailors are familiar with the F50 used on the SailGP circuit having sailed the boat originally designed for the 35th America’s Cup, which Bermuda hosted in 2017.

Spithill was the helmsman of American defender Oracle Team USA and Bruni as the spare helmsman of Swedish challenger Artemis Racing.

“The boats are a little bit different being upgraded a bit, so they are going even faster than what you saw here for the America’s Cup,” Bruni said. “So a higher performance and the biggest difference really is the fleet racing. Eight boats at those speeds on such a short course is really exciting.”

Spithill is still coming to grips adjusting back into the multihull boat, which has also been modified to one-design specifications.

“I’m still adjusting, clearly the teams with more time are sailing well, ourselves and the kiwis have had much less,” he said.Spithill and Bruni both have a score to settle with Peter Burling, whose New Zealand SailGP Team are making their debut on the SailGP circuit in Bermuda.It was multiple Olympic and world champion Burling and crew aboard defender Emirates Team New Zealand who beat Luna Rossa 7-3 at the recent 36th America’s Cup Match to retain the coveted Auld Mug.“It would be a good revenge to beat them here,” Bruni said. “They are a very strong team, we know that. But they are beatable.“For them it’s going to be hard to jump back on the catamaran after spending two and a half years in the monohull, so it’s a little bit of a different game. But they are a tough team, so it’s going to be interesting to see how they perform.”

Spithill added: “To be honest, in this fleet, anyone can win races, so you can’t focus on just one team. But it sure is nice to have the exact same equipment and even boats!”

Both sailors are competing in their debut season in the global SailGP series.

Spithill joined Team USA as helmsman and chief executive last December while Bruni was officially announced as a late addition to Team Japan this week.

SailGP was founded by Sir Russell Coutts and American business magnate Larry Ellison after Oracle’s loss to Team New Zealand at the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda.

Great Britain, Denmark, France, Australia and Spain are the remaining national teams competing in the global championship.

Australia, helmed by multiple world champion, Olympic gold medal-winner and America’s Cup winner Tom Slingsby, are the defending champions.

• Editor’s note: As a result of broadcasting restrictions, The Royal Gazette will not be able to report on yesterday’s racing until later today