French confirm America’s Cup entry

The organizers of the 37th America’s Cup have revealed the French challenge by the Société nautique de Saint-Tropez and their representative team K-Challenge Racing.

Led by Stephane Kandler and Bruno Dubois, their Challenge was previously accepted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and they have now chosen to formally announce their entry and confirm they are ready to proceed with their campaign.

The entry period opened December 1, 2021 and closed July 31, 2022, but with the provision that late entries may be accepted until May 31, 2023. It is not clear when they submitted their entry.

“We have been working behind the scenes for almost a year now and we are going to announce great things by the end of this month,” said Kandler, CEO of K-Challenge Racing.

The French challenge joins INEOS Britannia (GBR), Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI), Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team (ITA), and NYYC American Magic (USA) in their pursuit to beat defender Emirates Team New Zealand.

“France is such a prominent sailing nation but despite this, it is not a small undertaking to get an America’s Cup team up and running,” said Grant Dalton, CEO of AC37 Event Limited. “I congratulate Stephane, Bruno, and the Société nautique de Saint-Tropez who have been working away tirelessly to get to this point.”

Led by Kandler, K-Challenge last challenged in the 2007 America’s Cup under the name Areva Challenge, and Kandler was also involved in the Team France challenge for the 2017 America’s Cup.

Dubois is the France SailGP Team Manager and was Team Director for China’s Dongfeng Race Team when they won the 2017-18Volvo Ocean Race.

(L-R) Stephane Kandler and Bruno Dubois,

Following the publication of the AC37 Protocol and AC75 Class Rule on November 17, 2021, the AC75 Class Rule and AC Technical Regulations were finalized on March 17, 2022. The entry period opened December 1, 2021 and runs until July 31, 2022, but late entries for the 37th America’s Cup may be accepted until May 31, 2023. The Defender was to announce the Match Venue on September 17, 2021 but postponed the venue reveal, confirming it would be Barcelona on March 30, 2022. The 37th America’s Cup will be held in September/October 2024.

Teams revealed to challenge defender Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL):
• INEOS Britannia (GBR)
• Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI)
• Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team (ITA)
• NYYC American Magic (USA)

Noticeboard: https://ac37noticeboard.acofficials.org/
Additional details: www.americascup.com/en/home