Swedish investment paying at Youth America’s Cup

Barcelona, Spain (September 21, 2024) – The six Invited Teams of the Youth America’s Cup, after light winds delayed their competition, today faced a big sea state and winds just over 17 knots to complete five races.

Teams were on the edge of control, particularly downwind, and going too far got messy with nosedives, broaches, spill-outs and sky-rockets. There were place changes aplenty.

It was a bit much for this group with limited hours in the AC40, except for the one team that invested heavily in training. The Swedish team with Oscar Engström and Ludvig Lindqvist on the helms, were a class apart.

Scoring four race wins from five starts, this was a dominant performance from a team that has put in the long days at their practice facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland before coming to Spain for on-the-water hours with their own AC40.

A delighted Oscar came ashore and reflected on what was a sensational day for the Swedish team, saying: “What a

“It was tough out there, but we just kept super-consistent, kept the good communication going between us, and found a way to win,” noted Engström. “We stayed calm onboard, concentrated on our maneuvers, it wasn’t easy, and we had to be patient, but we executed when we needed to and got the wins.

“The goal now is to get to the semi-final where the really serious racing starts, and we’ve been training with a lot of the America’s Cup teams so we’re confident we can do well. Win it – why not?”

The Swedish were, however, pushed hard in the racing with the mercurial talents of Cole Tapper and Jack Ferguson for Andoo Team Australia showing both tactical racecraft and boatspeed to score the opening race win and push hard all day. Boat handling errors, particularly on the downwind maneuvers, proved costly for the Australians in terms of securing the top spot but they still finished the day in second.

One of the stories of the day began with a vicious and dramatic nosedive just seconds before the start of the fifth race by the Australians, who then had to recover from a fully swamped boat, a wind data blackout, and a huge distance given away, but still managed to finish the race in third.

Hometown favorite and overnight leader had a consistent day, always challenging and in the hunt for the podium and a string of decent results, particular a second and third place in Races 3 and 4 today, sees them in third place with two races left to complete tomorrow.

The schedule tomorrow will see a six race schedule, with the first two races of the day being for the Invited Teams to complete their 8-race qualifying schedule, followed by four races for the America’s Cup teams to complete theirs.

Viewing details – Race information – Results – Weather forecast

After six races

After four races

Format: Beginning September 17, 12 teams are split into two groups of six for an initial fleet race series in the AC40s. The top three teams from each side after eight races will race together in four fleet races to decide the top-two crews and from there it’s a one-race, winner-takes-all for the title on September 26.

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 Youth America’s Cup and Women’s America’s Cup.

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

Source: ACE