Who are the challengers?
Ineos Britannia (Challenger of Record) - UK
Sir Ben Ainslie is back with another bid to end the UK’s 173-year wait to get their hands on the Auld Mug after they lost it in the inaugural America’s Cup regatta. They worked closely with the Mercedes F1 Team to try and design the best possible vessel, though come into the challenger series needing to find some pace.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy)
Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni again share the helming duties for the Italians, who lost in the Cup match to Team NZ in Auckland in 2021. They have looked to be the pick of the challengers early, so they’ll hope that continues now that racing counts.
American Magic (US)
A new-look team this year with Australian ace Tom Slingsby (whose mother is American) helming the starboard side and Paul Goodison on port. Like Luna Rossa, American Magic have looked quick through the early stages. They’ve made some interesting design choices – the only team to go with recumbent cyclors opposed to upright – and they’ll be hopeful all those little things make a difference.
Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland)
Alinghi took the America’s Cup from Team New Zealand in 2003, and after more than a decade out of the event, the Swiss are back to try and do it again - of course, this time they haven’t signed a group of Team NZ’s key sailors in order to do so. Their match-racing skills were clearly on show through the preliminary regatta with Arnaud Psarofaghis and Maxime Bachelin sharing the helm and are a dark horse coming into the challenger series. They’ve working alongside the Red Bull F1 team in their development, so it’ll be interesting to see if they find some extra pace now that racing counts.
Orient Express Racing Team (France)
The other newcomer to the fleet and a late entry at that, the French bought a design package from Team NZ for their AC75 so the belief is they will have a competitive boat. They were the last team to launch, and that lost time could cost them; they did not sail particularly well in the preliminary regatta. They do have a strong team though, made up largely of the French SailGP team, with Quentin Delapierre and Kevin Peponnet at the helm. They come in as the rank outsiders.
How can I watch it in New Zealand?
Do you like staying up (or getting up) in the early hours of the morning? To watch live racing, you can tune in from midnight on Three, ThreeNow or on the America’s Cup website and Youtube channel.
If you value a good night’s sleep a little more, you can watch a replay on Three at 7am each day or stream the races on demand via ThreeNow and the Cup YouTube channel.
What’s different this time around?
The AC75 has gone through a bit of development since being raced in Auckland in 2021. It seemed Luna Rossa were onto something in that regatta when they opted to run a dual-helming scheme to limit movement on the boat. Now, every team has a port and starboard helmsman and flight controller/trimmer, with no need for athletes to switch sides for manoeuvers. For Team NZ, Nathan Outteridge and Peter Burling are at the helm, with Blair Tuke and Andy Maloney on trimming and controlling.
The new generation also welcomed the return of cyclors, with bikes replacing the traditional grinding pedestals. This comes as the new protocol lowered crew numbers from 11 to eight, and early indications are the boats are more reliable in winds towards the lowest end of the range (with wind range for racing is 6.5 knots to 21 knots) than they were in Auckland.
Why are Team NZ racing in the challenger series?
As the defender, Team NZ get to make the rules. In Auckland in 2021, they did not race in the challenger series and when it came to the Cup match, they were critical of their sailing performance despite a 7-3 win. This time, they’re taking the opportunity to get some more races under their belts before the Cup match. They will still have about a two-week period when they aren’t racing and the challengers are, but joining the round-robin means an extra 10 races for the defender.
Are there any Kiwis involved outside of Team NZ?
While there are new nationality rules that state 100% of the racing crew must have been a passport holder or have been physically present in the country for two of the three years prior to March 18, 2021, yes, there are plenty of New Zealanders mixed across other teams in some way. Here’s a breakdown, provided by the teams.
Luna Rossa: Luca Kirwan, Hamish Wilcox, Daniel Jowett and Brendan Jones.
Alinghi: Dean Barker, Brad Butterworth, Brett Healey, Rhys Jones, Matthew Kelly, Andy Kensington, Richard Kiff, Elliot Pilcher, Phil Robertson, Robert Salthouse, Daniel Smith, Jason Squire, Jack Taylor, Craig Twentyman, Vito Vattuone
Orient Express: Jason Saunders, Benjamin Tregunno, Tyler Williams, Benjamin Tapper, Alexander Hartbottle, Magnus Doole, Oakley Marsh, Christopher Reid, Connor Richardson, Paul O’Reilly.
Ineos Britannia: The UK team have eight Kiwis working across their organisation, but chose not to provide their names.
American Magic: The Americans would not disclose any information about roles and nationalities of those in their organisation. “By keeping such information confidential, we aim to protect our strategic advantages and maintain fairness in the competition,” they said.
America’s Cup key dates
Louis Vuitton Cup round-robin: August 30-September 9
Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals: September 15-20
Youth America’s Cup: September 18-27
Louis Vuitton Cup finals: September 27-October 6
Puig Women’s America’s Cup: October 6-14
Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup match: October 13-22
Youth and Women’s America’s Cup teams
America’s Cup teams: New Zealand, UK, Switzerland, Italy, USA, France
Invited teams: Australia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
