The news of the launching of the AC40 of the Alinghi Red Bull Racing in waters of the Front Maritim has released the last chapter of the run-up to the 37th edition of the America’s Cup Barcelona 2024.
Especially, after another of the participating challenges installed on Spanish soil, the INEOS Britannia, did the same with his training monohull in the bay of Palma. Both events have been an appetizer of the frenetic activity that will be breathed from this summer on the Barcelona coast, when the Defender of the oldest sports trophy on the planet, Emirates Team New Zealand, and the rest of the participants will train in the Catalan capital .
More than a year and a half away from the start of the 37th America’s Cup, the waters of Barcelona’s Front Marítim and the Bay of Palma have become the official test bench for two of the participating challenges, Alinghi Red Bull Racing and INEOS Britannia. Both unions, which have delegations installed in Spanish territory since the last quarter of last year, have taken advantage of the first weeks of this 2023 to carry out the first training sessions with their respective AC40.
Waiting for the launchings of the second generation AC75 (with which the five Challengers will compete to face Team Emirates New Zealand in the America’s Cup Match), and after a first series of tests with the BoatZero prototypes of this class, the first simulations and navigations with the AC40 have allowed both Swiss and British begin to collect the first data packets of this revolutionary miniature class of hydrofoil monohulls (foils), in the image and likeness of their ‘older brothers’, the AC75.
“It’s been fantastic to see Alinghi Red Bull Racing and INEOS Britannia launch and sail their AC40s on the same day,” said America’s Cup Events Limited CEO, Grant Dalton, following the launch of the first AC40 designed and built in New Zealand. “It has been especially good to see the Swiss sailing so well in Barcelona, getting the boat flying at high speeds and almost instantly having the confidence and ability to perform quick manoeuvres,” he added.
testing bench
With smaller dimensions and a crew of four people (as opposed to the eight of the AC75), the AC40 will not only allow the participating syndicates to anticipate the behavior of the expected second generation of AC75 with a view to the big event next year , but rather they will be the best test bench for their Women’s and Youth America’s Cup teams, which will compete with their AC40s for the respective titles of the first women’s edition in the history of the competition and of the regatta designed as a springboard for the future stars of the America’s Cup.
“The AC40 class will be the perfect platform to train the next generation of sailors of foils through the Women’s & Youth America’s Cup events. We are also looking forward to seeing the senior teams square off in the previous events we have planned. It is a very exciting new phase of the America’s Cup with a lot of future,” Dalton concluded.
