France: Last in, First out

Barcelona, Spain (September 9, 2024) – Orient Express Racing Team’s journey toward the 37th America’s Cup ended today at completion of the first stage of the challenger selection series. Among the five teams, the French finished fifth in the double round robin and were eliminate.

The team was the last entry, launched in February 2023, and without sufficient time to create their AC75, were sold a design package from Team New Zealand. They were also the last to launch, and with only 46 hours of ‘flying time’ since the team received their AC75 on June 6, all involved had known there was a mountain to climb.

“The whole team has been getting stronger and stronger, and our ambition is to come back,” said skipper and pilot Delapierre. “When we do, we will have to be better, we were missing a bit of an edge this time. Overall though what we have achieved has been pretty significant, but unfortunately, we were not able to get into the Semi Final.

“(But) what this team has achieved in just one year, and being able to compete against those much more experienced teams, is unbelievable.”

The overall ambition and sense of accomplishment was also highlighted by the CEO of Orient Express Racing Team, Stephan Kandler. “We are disappointed, and that’s something we have to digest, but we knew we were starting from a long way back. We started from scratch, we caught up, but not enough.

“What is clear is that you need a significant number of days on the water with these boats to match the level of the other teams and that is certainly something we lacked. Time is costly and we spent a lot of ours trying to make up for lost time. I believe we made very good choices in this regard, and there is nothing to regret.

“If we get out of a competition mindset for a moment and look at the big picture, the results are very encouraging. We now have an AC75, an AC40, a hydrogen foiler, a mobile base and a main headquarters being set up in the city of Lorient, and talent in all areas to manage an AC75, thanks to this Orient Express Racing Team project.

“We’re determined to be involved in the next edition of the America’s Cup and in other intermediate projects that will enable us to keep part of the team. We are building a platform for the future, for sure. We know we have fantastic technology to work on for future campaigns, if as planned the boat keeps on going in the America’s Cup. We are a sponsored team.

“We have no big private backer, so it is important for our sponsors to know where the Cup is going next. They were happy to come to Barcelona to support a young team. They know we are a good team with lots of potential, but we need to wait for the winner to decide when and where. I hope we’ll be there in the next one.”

Bruno Dubois, co-Chief Executive added, “I think overall we have done a good job. Stephan and I put this campaign together in a short time and I think in the end we were quite competitive. We’ve done some good things with this campaign, but we need more time, more money, more everything.

“The good news is that the team will stay together with a few projects we’re going to work on to make sure the sailors, the technical team, everybody, will stay together. We have the base, we have the boat, so we are not starting from zero.”

Viewing details – Race information – Results – Weather forecast

2024 Louis Vuitton Cup 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)

Team New Zealand competes in the round robin stage only, and the results of their races are not included in the challenger leaderboard. 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 Louis Vuitton Cup 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

Source: ACE