New leader for America’s Cup challenger

In what amounts to the biggest shakeup of the current America’s Cup cycle, Tudor Team Alinghi (SUI) has shifted leadership. After having named Britain’s Paul Goodison as the new skipper of the Swiss challenge for the 38th America’s Cup, they have since reached across the border to bring in Italian Francesco Bruni for the role.

After co-helming for Luna Rossa in the past two America’s Cups, Bruni was on the coaching staff for the Italian team, but it was after the second preliminary regatta when Swiss team owner Ernesto Bertarelli contacted Luna Rossa about his availability. As that event had not gone well for the Swiss, making a change became the move.

“As you can imagine, (this) was a very delicate matter. A great deal of work went into it with the teams, the lawyers and so on. Ernesto sees me as an expert in this field, given my specialization and the fact that I helmed the last two editions of the Cup with excellent results.”

What is not known is what becomes of Goodison along with co-helm Phil Robertson. “I will for sure be skipper,” noted Bruni. “Paul is a very important team member anyway, lots of work will be shared, I have been named for the leadership, but he is a very important person in the team and we are friends.

“There are three of us. We want to be a strong team so that anyone can fill any role. We don’t yet know who will fill which position, but it will become clear who performs better or worse in one position or another. I’ve played on the left twice in the past, but Goody has also played on the left. So we still have to decide.”

As to how intellectual property and transfer of knowledge from Luna Rossa was handled, Bruni admitted he does have a big amount of information and knowledge. “There is a lot of info that I cannot bring to another team. The Protocol is very, very, clear, so I will not share info that I am not allowed to share.”

As to whether the 52-year-old Bruni was fit for the job, Bruni remained positive. “Younger people have quicker reaction times, which is important, but it’s crucial to press the right buttons, and at my age I’m more likely to press the right buttons! I hope experience still counts for a lot. I still feel young at heart – numbers don’t make the difference.”

Defender New Zealand and Challenger of Record from Great Britain confirmed the Protocol for the 38th America’s Cup on August 12, 2025. The close of the initial entry period was October 31, 2025, with late entries considered up to March 31, 2026.

For the 38th America’s Cup, the AC75 has a helm and trimmer on each side of the boat along with a fifth crew position and a sixth passenger position.

38th America’s Cup: https://www.americascup.com/

38th America’s Cup entrants:
• Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) – Defender
• Athena Racing (GBR) – Challenger of Record
• Luna Rossa (ITA) – Challenger
• Tudor Team Alinghi (SUI) – Challenger
• La Roche-Posay Racing Team (FRA) – Challenger
• American Racing Challenger Team USA (USA) – Challenger
• Team Australia (AUS) – Challenger

After the 2024 event, Barcelona, Spain declined hosting another edition, with the venue moved to Naples, Italy. Challenger racing is May 22 to July 4 before the 38th Match on July 10-19. Full details.

Preliminary Regattas:*
May 22-24, 2026 – Cagliari, Italy
September 24-27 – Naples, Italy

* The Protocol noted how there would be as many Preliminary Regattas as possible, with the intent to have three during 2026 and one possibly in early 2027, and a final event at the Match Venue immediately prior to the challenger series. Only two have been thus far revealed.