America’s Cup: Will France be first to go?

The final race of the 2021 America’s Cup was on March 17, and ever since that day when New Zealand beat Italy 7-3 to capture the 36th edition, the effort to dethrone the defender quietly began again. Five challengers stepped forward, and their fates will now be decided at the 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Selection Series in Barcelona, Spain.

To be held from August 29 to October 7, it is the Double Round Robin Series through September 8 that is pivotal. For the defender, they participate but their races do not count. It will be over a month before they race again in the 37th Match. For the challengers, one team is eliminated at the conclusion of this stage.

Based on their performance in the Preliminary Regatta on August 22-25, that team would be the French. Here is their statement:

Orient Express Racing Team head into the Louis Vuitton Cup knowing how much they have already achieved, and completely aware of what they now have to accomplish.

“We have to be aware of where we have come from and especially where we can get to. We can go far if everything aligns well,” said Thierry Douillard, coach to the Orient Express Racing Team race crew.

“The team spirit is solid, so we need to focus on pure performance, and there are so many aspects of the boat, so many parameters and so many departments of the team involved, that although it is eight sailors on that boat, the whole team is onboard with them.”

The Orient Express Racing Team’s AC75 showed great potential in the recent Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta, and the crew had seized the opportunity to develop their understanding of the high-tech foiling yacht which they sailed for the first time in June.

“We have been learning the right settings and in parallel how to optimize our maneuvers,” said Douillard.

“It sounds simple saying it like that, but it is extremely complex because these are very sophisticated systems and you need to have the right analysis of a situation to know whether the maneuver can be achieved, or whether it needs to be adapted, it’s a trade-off that is not easy.”

A particular area of focus has been the critical pre-start phase at the beginning of every match race. As Douillard explains: “We are very late compared to our fellow challengers, we are playing catch-up, so there are a lot of things to learn very quickly and for sure, from a pure racing point of view, we have not been able to dedicate much training time to the pre-starts. We have been very occupied getting the boat working in every sense of the word: mechanically, electronically, hydraulically.

“We knew we would be in deficit during the Preliminary Regatta in terms of our starts, possibly more so than we anticipated. But we have worked on this area and have progressed well – now we have to put our learnings into practice.”

Orient Express Racing Team finished tied with Alinghi Red Bull Racing — their first opponent — at the bottom of the Preliminary Regatta table, both on one point.

Skipper and pilot Quentin Delapierre and his crew — co-pilot Kevin Peponnet, trimmers Jason Saunders and Matthieu Vandamme, and the powerhouse cyclor squad, four in each race, of Timothé Lapauw, Olivier Herlédant, Antoine Nougarède, Germain Chardin, Maxime Guyon, François Pervis, and brothers Rémi and Thibaut Verhoeven — know there is all to play for in the waters off Barcelona.

Viewing details – Race information – Weather forecast

2024 Challenger Selection Series
August 29-September 8: Double Round Robin
September 14-19: Semi Finals (Best of 9)
September 26-October 7: Finals (Best of 13)

Races start at 14:00 CET (08:00 ET) and run until 16:30 or 17:00, depending on the schedule.

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 Challenger Selection Series
August 29-September 8: Double Round Robin
September 14-19: Semi Finals (Best of 9)
September 26-October 7: Finals (Best of 13)

2024 America’s Cup
October 12-21: 37th Match (Best of 13)

For competition details, click here.

Additionally, 12 teams will compete in the 2024 Youth & Women’s America’s Cup.

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