The Louis Vuitton Cup starts on Thursday 29 August with the opening races of the double Round-Robin series, with some perhaps hoping it’s not really going to get worse before it gets better.
Every point matters now and the challengers will all want to hit the races at pace, the time for the technical babble is over, any improvements can only come on the racecourse now.
Time is tight for fixing any breakdowns or tweaking systems. They each face ten races over the next eleven days (including three reserve days)
As became obvious from the start of the Preliminary Regatta in Barcelona, the defender Emirates Team New Zealand was by far the best prepared team, with a boat and crew that looked fast, smooth and tight.
At every stage of the development and build of the second generation AC75 the Kiwis have been ahead of the game and have taken the traditional defender advantage to new heights.
The psychological pressure has been at a new level, from a low key design/build stage to unexpectedly rolling out the new AC75 in Auckland, then launching, stepping the mast, tow-testing and being the first new AC75 to actually sail . . . no fuss, no problem, just another day for the Kiwi America’s Cup machine.
A major factor in this slick process has been the Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton, who has taken all the flack, locally and internationally, while getting the event to run just as he wants it to.
And as we come to the first real competition stage of the event, with ETNZ still involved honing their skills and getting plenty of time to know their challengers’ strengths and weaknesses, he must be a very happy man.
So here we go . . . The Louis Vuitton Cup – Challenger Selection Series from 29 August to 7 October.
Although Ben Ainslie’s INEOS Britannia team are the Challenger of Record, this gives them no on-water advantage when it comes to actually competing in the America’s Cup Match, that is decided by this Challenger Selection event.
The Challenger Selection event runs in two stages . . .
In the first stage the five Challengers and the Defender compete in a double Round Robin series, from Thursday 29 Aug to Sunday 8 Sep.
This is a match-race feest with a total of 30 match-races over ten days.
The Defender ETNZ will then withdraw, and the bottom challenger is eliminated, with the top four challengers moving to the second stage.
The second stage comprises of two, first-to-five-points, Semi-Finals.
The two Semi-Final winners then advance to the Louis Vuitton Cup Final, with the winner being the first to get seven points.
The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final becomes the America’s Cup Challenger.
They will go on to meet the Defender ETNZ in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match starting Saturday 12 October 2024.
The five America’s Cup challengers are:
- GBR – INEOS Britannia (Challenger of Record)
- SUI – Alinghi Red Bull Racing
- USA – NYYC American Magic
- ITA – Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli
- FRA – Orient Express Racing Team.
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