America’s Cup: What the skippers said

In advance of the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Selection Series which begins August 29, here’s what the six skippers are saying in Barcelona, Spain:

Ben Ainslie, INEOS Britannia (GBR):
“It’s starting to get serious in a hurry. We’re now racing for keeps. We’ve been through the preliminary regatta, which was a great opportunity for all the teams to size up against each other, certainly a huge amount of learnings for all the teams, but now each point counts and you’ve got to make it work.”

Tom Slingsby, NYYC American Magic (USA):
“It was really interesting for us to see all the teams, the strengths and weaknesses, and it’s quite interesting to see how you stack up. As for us at American Magic, I think we showed our potential in a couple of races and then in others we fell a bit below that. We’ve got to be realistic; we can’t let that happen when the points count.”

Jimmy Spithill, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (ITA):
“Look, it counts now. There’s no more practice. I think the whole fleet has had a reliability issue at some point, whether through the preliminary regatta or through some of the media practice days, so it’s on everyone’s minds. But you have to understand that these boats are literally on the edge. We push these things very, very, hard and they are incredible machines, so it comes part and parcel with the very edge of technology and pushing things hard.

“I think what the preliminary regatta showed was that everyone had their moments, everyone went out and won races, but at the same time, there were mistakes through all the teams, and it showed. If you made too many mistakes you will be punished for them, you will lose that race – and everyone has experienced that.”

Arnaud Psarofaghis, Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI):
“I think we just need to make the cut, and the goal for us is to win as many races as we need to go to the next stage. Mainly just through every race we want to make sure that we take one step forward, to progress and avoid the mistakes we made last week where we had a good game plan but a few mistakes put us on the back foot. This week we are just going to go out there the way we know to sail the boat and just really push hard, and if we manage to make a good start, we can win any race.”

Quentin Delapierre, Orient Express Racing Team (FRA):
“It’s not that frustrating. We know that we didn’t have so much experience around the racetrack, especially on the starts and did not have the opportunity to race against another boat during the campaign. So, the preliminary regatta for us was an unbelievable experience to learn as much as we can. On the starts and pre-starts, we learned a lot and we will show it tomorrow. I’m really confident in the team, the challenge is huge for us but many departments inside the team learned a lot and improved their skills during the preliminary regatta, so there is a good opportunity for us.”

Peter Burling, Team New Zealand (NZL):
“The Challenger group is the toughest it’s been in a long time in the America’s Cup, we saw some amazing racing during this preliminary series. I think everyone has got strengths and weaknesses and it’s going to be super exciting to see what happens over the next two weeks. Then at the end of this double round robin, one of these teams is going home. The level is getting raised to a whole other space and it’s exciting to see what unfolds.”

Viewing details – Race information – Results – Weather forecast

2024 Challenger Selection Series
August 29-September 8: Double Round Robin
September 14-19: Semi Finals (Best of 9)
September 26-October 7: Finals (Best of 13)

Races start at 14:00 CET (08:00 ET) and run until 16:30 or 17:00, depending on the schedule.

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 was from December 1, 2021 until July 31, 2022, but late entries for the 37th America’s Cup could be accepted until May 31, 2023. The Defender was to announce the Match Venue on September 17, 2021 but postponed the reveal, finally confirming Barcelona on March 30, 2022. The 37th America’s Cup begins October 12, 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)
• Orient Express Racing Team (FRA)

2023-24 Preliminary Regattas
September 14-17, 2023 (AC40): Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain
November 30-December 2 (AC40): Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
August 22-25, 2024 (AC75): Barcelona, Spain

2024 Challenger Selection Series
August 29-September 8: Double Round Robin
September 14-19: Semi Finals (Best of 9)
September 26-October 7: Finals (Best of 13)

2024 America’s Cup
October 12-21: 37th Match (Best of 13)

For competition details, click here.

Additionally, 12 teams will compete in the 2024 Youth & Women’s America’s Cup.

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