Alinghi Red Bull Racing ready to move forward

Alinghi Red Bull Racing ready to move forward

by Alinghi Red Bull Racing Sep 12 08:43 PDT

Since Alinghi Red Bull Racing qualified for the Louis Vuitton Cup Semifinals on Monday, the Swiss team has used the short break between stages to make important adjustments. The focus remains the same: delivering the performance needed to advance in the competition.

On Monday, Alinghi Red Bull Racing advanced to the Louis Vuitton Cup Semifinals. The Swiss Challenger team had a few days to reflect on their first round performance before Saturday’s race. Despite some ups and downs in the early weeks of racing, the team showed steady and concrete improvements throughout the stages. “We were a little behind during the first Round Robin, but we managed to recover, and we never stopped believing that we could do it,” said Captain Arnaud Psarofaghis, who believes his team is on a better path. “Everyone stayed focused and worked hard, and we did it.”

During this week’s break in racing, the Swiss team has used the time to analyze performance data, adjust their setup, and plan their strategy for the next stage. Equipment reliability is a key factor in the high-tech world of the AC75, and BoatOne’s reliability has lived up to expectations so far. In between stages, the team has been allowed to make certain modifications to their boat in order to gain performance gains. “We made some adjustments to the boat that you’ll see when it comes out of the shed,” Psarofaghis said. “Every little detail can be worked on, both above and below the water, and even inside the boat.”

As the top-ranked team from the previous stage, Ineos Britannia will tomorrow choose their Semi-Final opponents before Saturday’s race. Psarofaghis said Alinghi Red Bull Racing will be ready for any result. “For us, it doesn’t matter. The goal is to go out there, keep improving and win every race to reach the Louis Vuitton Cup Final.”

The Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals will kick off on Saturday 14 September at 14:00 CET, with two races scheduled for each duo.

Silvio Arrivabene, Co-General Manager:

“The semi-finals have a different format, with the first to win five races, so we will face the same teams over several days. The advantage is that you can test yourself against those teams over several races. Whoever we face – whether it’s England, Italy or America – we will be ready. We are focused on our own performance.”

Arnaud Psarofaghis, Captain:

“Since qualifying, we’ve been happy because now we can start the real work. It’s always nice to get through a stage, but the next one will be harder. We have a good idea of ​​what we want to improve on the boat, and how we want to sail it. This week we have the opportunity to implement things that we couldn’t do during the two Round Robins.”

Maxime Bachelin, Helmsman:

“Looking back at the Round Robin, we saw things we could improve on, especially boat speed. Our performance was a bit lower than in practice, so we focused on improving our speed to be competitive with our next opponents.”

Hans-Peter Steinacher, Board Member:

“As the world’s oldest sporting trophy, dating back to 1851, there is a lot of tradition surrounding the America’s Cup. It’s not just a sporting event, it’s also a design competition. We may be the underdogs at the moment, which gives us the opportunity to approach the game aggressively and potentially surprise our opponents. We had a tough Round Robin, but we pushed hard and got through it. We have now used the last 3 days to analyse all the data and improve the speed of the AC75.”