Battle lines drawn for Louis Vuitton Cup

Barcelona, Spain (September 13, 2024) – It came as little surprise when Sir Ben Ainslie revealed how his INEOS Britannia team had selected Alinghi Red Bull Racing as their opponent in the Louis Vuitton Cup first-to-five Semi-final series.

As the winner of the Round Robin stage, the British team had earned that right, and chose the team that had been least formidable in that round. Ainslie’s team also selected starboard entry in their first encounter against the Swiss and chose to be the second start of the day.

For Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, the surprise runners-up in the overall standings having led comfortably before some extraordinary final day turnarounds, their opponent will be NYYC American Magic. As the higher seed, Italy chose to start the series from the port end , while the Americans will be looking for a reset after a roller-coaster set of results through the Round Robin stage.

The USA team has never beaten the Italians – neither in the challenger selection series nor earlier at the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta. And they must do it without their starting port helm Paul Goodison who is recovering from injuries incurred in an onboard fall.

“We take this day-by-day,” noted starboard helm Tom Slingsby. “Lucas Calabrese has stepped into the role, and he is doing an exciting job. Everyone is concerned about the injury and hoping for Goody’s recovery. I don’t know how his recovery will go. We are hopeful. He wants to be out there with us and he can’t at the moment.”

Racing starts on Saturday September 14 and is scheduled to continue through to Monday 16 September, before the first planned Reserve Day on Tuesday September 17, with two races planned for each semi-final per day. The schedule allows for racing to run through to Thursday September 19, plus there are a further four Reserve Days, if required, spanning Friday September 20 to Monday September 23.

This is the tough knock-out stage as the competition comes to a head. A place in the Final of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the gateway to a chance at challenging the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match in October, is on the line.

Viewing details – Race information – Results – Weather forecast

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 9: 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, but the results of their races were not included in the challenger leaderboard.

2024 America’s Cup
October 12-27: 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, Jan Pehrson