Here we are. On August 22, in Barcelona, words will be replaced by deeds for the third Preliminary Regatta of the 37th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup. The six new AC75s will all be in the water and in the regattas, perhaps seasoned with a bit of pre-tactics, the teams will show their qualities. While waiting to discover the fastest, let’s hear what six “big shots” from Defender, Challenger of Record and Challenger had to say about a regatta which, even if it has no impact on the race for the Cup, could already say who will be next to Emirates Team New Zealand on the start line of The Match on 12 October. In the meantime, however, let’s settle for this aperitif of the third Preliminary Regatta which in the first two stages, in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and Vilanova i la Geltrú (Spain), saw the victories of Emirates Team New Zealand and American Magic.
America’s Cup: the Kiwi stand and wait
Kevin Shoebridge, Chief Operating Officer of Emirates Team New Zealand . “From what we have seen so far- all teams look strong. We will be looking at all of the teams closely as they all have some interesting design aspects. It is far too early to make assessments one way or another because all teams will be focused on their own programs. So we will wait and see but, obviously, as the intensity and progress of the event increases our specific focus will become a lot more narrowed! We’ll be looking to take as much as possible from across the board in the Preliminary Regatta – racing practice, performance analysis on ourselves and relative to our competitors, and really for all teams I am sure it will be a very clear look at where teams are sitting relative to each other.”
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All is well says Sir Ainslie
Sir Ben Ainslie, CEO and skipper of INEOS Britannia. “We’re excited about getting into racing and getting a better read on the competition, who’s going fast and in what sort of conditions and of course gauging what the racing is going to look like as we get into the round robins. It’s our opportunity to gauge ourselves against the opposition and start to get match fit. Of course, we will inevitably still be making changes to the set-up of the boat through the Preliminary Regatta, then into the Round Robins and as we progress through the competition so it’s constantly tweaking the boat to try and find that optimum performance.”
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America’s Cup: no pre-tactics for Alinghi
Silvio Arrivabene, co-General Manager of Alinghi Red Bull Racing. “We can’t wait. It’s been three and a half years since the AC75s last sailed and we’re pretty confident, Barcelona has been a great training venue for us. Will weather conditions influence the results? A lot, because the typical conditions are bound to change over the course of the event, so it’s going to be interesting. Furthermore, I don’t think there will be elements of pre-tactics given that the Louis Vuitton Cup begins immediately after the Preliminary. Everyone has an interest in comparing themselves with others and the calendar does not allow such tactics”.
Silvio Arrivabene of Alinghi Red Bull Racing.
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There is never enough time
Max Sirena, Team Director and skipper of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. “Although we have been preparing for three and a half years for the start of these races, we never feel quite ready. You always wish you had more time. The Preliminary Regatta will be important and is a motivation to gauge where we are in relation to the rest of the fleet, but since it has no value in terms of score, it will only give us a hint, and not a final assessment prior to the actual official regattas. Also, there won’t be the same pressure that we will experience during the Round Robins.”
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America’s Cup: then Mother Nature will speak
Terry Hutchinson, president of Sailing Operations/Skipper of American Magic. “We are approximately 5-weeks out and we are not focused on this event per se. We continue to work on developing our speed, boat handling, and learning Patriot. In the month of August our eye will naturally turn towards this event. It will be good to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Patriot against the fleet. Learning what mode to sail off the line and how to use Patriot’s speed. All teams are our competitor. Each team has clever thinking and so we will look to see what we can learn and how we can improve from the fleet not just one team. There is a lot of development for every team between now and the start of the Preliminary Regatta. The true test for all the teams is to be learning as much as they can between now and the start of this test event. Mother nature always has the final say. We can prepare, practice, and develop but the beauty of our sport is the conditions ultimately dictate. How each team has designed and developed for the conditions in Barcelona will be on display.”
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Excited for our first time
Quentin Delapierre, skipper of Orient Express. “There is an unbelievable excitement in the team, you can feel every day on the water. Every technician and designer wants to see if we are in a good shape compared to the others. They are all fully focussed on our performance, there is a good energy. It will be awesome to compete in the Preliminary Regatta and see where we are to improve before the Louis Vuitton Cup. We will use the practice racing to just test our boat handling and straight line speed. Also, it will be super important for us to come into the starting box with all our processes and just being very confident on how we want to approach the entry start and the final sequence before the game. We worked a lot on this approach with just looking back on the previous Cup in Auckland and we have come out with a good strategy. It will be nice to test it during the Preliminary Regatta”.
America’s Cup: live show
The program of the third Preliminary Regatta includes the start of the first match race at 2.00 pm on Thursday 22 August and the return of the boats at 4.45-5.00 pm. The Race Village will be open from 12.00 and will close at 22.00 also on the other three days of the regatta. All races will be broadcast live on www.americascup.com
Emilio Martinelli