Alinghi Red Bull Racing became the first team, outside the Challenger of Record, to formally declare their entry as a Challenger in the 37th America’s Cup.
The formal announcement took place at their club Societe Nautique de Geneve, on the shores of Lake Geneva, in front a group of media and invited guests, and online media.
It was a significant moment for the Swiss club, which will celebrate its 150th anniversary, next year.
Effectively it is a new team comprising the two top GC32 teams Alinghi and Red Bull Sailing Team, but with a third partner in the F1 team Red Bull Racing. The principals of Alinghi, Ernesto Bertarelli, Red Bull Sailing Team, Hans-Peter Steinacher, were on stage together at the Societe Nautique de Geneve. They were joined via a video hook-up by Christian Horner, Team Chief of Red Bull Racing, the now world champion F1 team.
The twice America’s Cup champions Alinghi return to the America’s Cup after an absence of 11 years, following their defeat in a Deed of Gift match off Valencia in February 2010. No mention was made of that event, with team backer, Swiss pharmaceutical multi-billionaire, Ernest Bertarelli instead referencing the team’s win with a “perfect challenge in New Zealand, and then winning again in Valencia by two seconds were memorable moments.”
“When we left, it was with a feeling that we did a good job. We were the first to win on the first attempt. We were the first one to bring the Cup back to Europe, and frankly I think we did a good job of organizing the regatta with 11 Challengers in the wonderful town of Valencia and the beautiful racing.
“When we stopped in the Cup, we didn’t stop competing. We always had in mind that Alinghi would come back one day. Over the years, we continued to race fast boats, which is our DNA. And we raced fast foiling boats with a new generation of sailor – Swiss born.”
“So now we are ready. Ready for something different, something very new, something very fresh and very exciting.”
The announcement was a carefully orchestrated affair which released little real detail about the challenge. The session was conducted part in French, part in English.
Two members of the Alingi GC32 team were part of the on-stage group, Arnaud Psarofaghis and Bryan Mettraux, there was no reference to speculation regarding signing of AC75 experienced sailors who don’t qualify as Swiss nationals to join the team.
Most of the questions were taken from the media physically present at the Swiss club, with only a couple taken from the international media.
There was no mention of the purchase of a first generation AC75, but the new team is widely tipped to have purchased Te Aihe from Emirates Team New Zealand. The AC75, reckoned to be a good match for the second generation AC75’s which competed in the 2021 America’s Cup. Te Aihe was spotted in mid-last week outside the Emirates Team New Zealand base, destination unknown.
As a “new” team Alinghi Red Bull Racing are permitted to start sailing earlier than September 17, 2022. They can start sailing their purchased AC75, for a period of 20 days between June 17, 2022 and September 17, 2022.
Hans-Peter Steinacher won two Olympic Gold medals for Austria in the Tornado class in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic regattas, sailing with Ramon Hagara. As leader of Red Bull Sailing team, he has competed against Bertarelli in the GC32 class for several seasons.
Introducing the sailing team Bertarelli noted that they were boys when Alinghi was competing in the 2003 and 2007 America’s Cups, “but now they are now grown up men. They were born with foiling, and we feel that we have a team capable to compete at the highest level in the next Cup.”
The two teams will, if they wish, be able to continue to compete on the GC32 circuit without infringing any of the AC37 Protocol, which prohibits sailing in boats longer than 12 metres. Joining the SailGP circuit will not be so easy unless they come to an accommodation with the newly announced Swiss SailGP team, which is one of the strictly limited group of ten teams competing on the Season 3 circuit. Several of the crew members from established America’s Cup teams compete on the SailGP circuit sailing wingsailed foiling catamarans – a one design modification of the AC50’s used in the 2017 America’s Cup in Bermuda.
