Swiss-flagged America’s Cup team Alinghi Red Bull Racing has named key members of its sailing team as they prepare for the 37th America’s Cup
America’s Cup team Alinghi Red Bull Racing has named key members of its sailing team as the Swiss-flagged team prepares for its challenge for the 37th America’s Cup, to be held in Barcelona, Spain, in 2024 .
The Alinghi racing team backed by Ernesto Bertarelli has officially announced that it will compete in the 37th America’s Cup in December 2021, after months of speculation. Their entry marks the return of the Alinghi team, two-time America’s Cup winners, after more than a decade of absence from the competition.
At the same time, Alinghi also announced that it would partner with F1 team Red Bull Racing to form America’s Cup team Alinghi Red Bull Racing. This partnership follows the 37th America’s Cup Challenger of Record, with INEOS Britannia teaming up with the Mercedes F1 team – a clear signal of the extreme technological advancement of this new period of America’s Cup sailing in the foiling monohull complex, AC75 class.
Prior to the official announcement of their entry, there had been speculation as to which club Alinghi would represent, as the 100% nationality rule for the America’s Cup confirmed in the protocol for the 37th America’s Cup requires that all sailors hold a passport of the nation they represent, thus limiting the ability to buy foreign talent in the landlocked country.
However, in this initial entry statement, it was confirmed that they would once again represent the Société Nautique de Genève, requiring the entire team to be Swiss and the team’s AC75 to be built in Switzerland.
The last time Alinghi participated in an America’s Cup competition was in 2010 during the Deed of Gift match when its huge catamaran was beaten by the sailing trimaran of Oracle Team USA. Photo: Jose Delgado / Alinghi
Today, after several months of waiting, the team unveiled their list of key sailors who will be tasked with getting to grips with the AC75 foiling monohull in a bid to win the most sought after trophy in sailing.
The team includes a number of sailors who, although not well known, are familiar to those interested in high performance racing. However, many of the crew will also be unknown to Cup fans.
This Alinghi team is based on nurturing local emerging talent – a very different proposition to the 2003 campaign, when Alinghi was famous poached many talented sailors from Team New Zealand.
Arnaud Psarofaghis leads the pack – and likely to be responsible for steering the team’s AC75 one way or another (teams can follow the route taken by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli during the 36th America’s Cup and have twin port and starboard tack coxswains). . Psarofaghis is a highly experienced foiling sailor who has competed in everything from foiling Moths to SailGP and the GC32 foiling circuit – and has previously been involved in France’s America’s Cup project, Groupama Team France.
The team is nominally divided into two categories, the “driving group” and the “power group”. This split reflects the dual need for a sailing team in the modern Cup era, as the possibility that cyclists (as developed by Emirates Team New Zealand for their 2017 America’s Cup victory) could return for this Cup competition.
The “steering group” will be responsible for roles such as helm, tactics, flight control, sail trimming, etc. while the “power group” will generate the power needed to trim foils and sails on cyclor or traditional style winch grinding stations. .
The Alinghi Red Bull Racing sailing team. Photo: Alinghi Red Bull Racing
The Alinghi Red Bull Racing team is made up of:
Driving group:
Maxime Bachelin
Matias Bühler
Nicolas Charbonnier
Lucien Cujean
Yves Detrey
Augustin Maillefer
Bryan Mettraux
Arnaud Psarofaghis
Power group:
Arthur Cevey
Barnabas Delarze
Nicolas Rolaz
Thery Schir
Nils Theuninck
Florian Trub
These are crew members that Psarofaghis – who has been at the heart of the project and heavily involved in recruiting – knows well. “Going on this adventure with friends I’ve known since childhood and people I’ve worked with for over 20 years is very exciting,” said the 33-year-old. “Even if I haven’t necessarily sailed with them, this complicity is a great advantage.
“We understand each other, which will make communication so much easier. And this is vital, because on board, good communication is essential. And off the boat too: we know when one of us is going through a bad patch, how to talk to him, and when… Only performance counts, and it is with this in mind that the teams will be formed. ”
“It was not an easy choice, we are lucky to have great potential in Switzerland,” said head coach Nils Frei. It was he who led the recruitment jointly with Pierre-Yves Jorand, co-director general in charge of sports operations. The first sailors who were chosen contributed to the decision-making. “Character, attitude and development potential are as important as skills,” adds Jorand.
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The team acknowledges the limited Group Cup experience in their announcement, stating that:
Talented as they are, these sailors have no America’s Cup experience yet. A high-level training program has therefore been set up on the water with renowned coaches and internationally recognized designers.
Reflecting the physical needs of a sailing team in the modern America’s Cup, this is a very young team, the youngest being Nicolas Rolaz, 22, who won the Junior Class Optimist World Championship in 2014.
Since exiting the Cup competition, following their loss to Oracle USA in the 2010 Deed of Gift match, the Alinghi team has since competed in events on Swiss lakes, including the T35 circuit.
Bertarelli points out that the team has been sailing fast and foiling boats, with a young Swiss team and therefore does not see their relative lack of Cup experience as a problem. “We expected to [100% nationality] rule, and we’re ready,” he said as the team prepares to battle for another America’s Cup cycle.
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