As America’s Cup teams prepare for the next three events in the circuit, two new teams have announced intentions to compete in the America’s Cup World Series. Italy’s Luna Rossa Challenge 2013 and Great Britain’s Ben Ainslie Racing bring with them A-level talent that hopes to raise the bar on the race course.
Luna Rossa unveils its new AC45 catamaran in Auckland, New Zealand in January. Photo ©Nigel Marple/Luna Rossa Challenge 2013
Published: February, 2012
As America’s Cup teams prepare for the next three events in the circuit, two new teams have announced intentions to compete in the America’s Cup World Series. Italy’s Luna Rossa Challenge 2013 and Great Britain’s Ben Ainslie Racing bring with them A-level talent that hopes to raise the bar on the race course.
Italy’s new entry
Luna Rossa Challenge 2013 launched and sailed its AC45 for the first time in Auckland in early January. Luna Rossa has a long, proud history in the modern era of the America’s Cup, winning the Louis Vuitton Cup in its first challenge in 2000, and reaching the semi finals in 2003 and the finals in 2007.
The team started planning for the Cup several months ago, announcing its challenge late last year. Its first racing will come in the next America’s Cup World Series event in Naples, Italy in April. Time, says skipper Max Sirena, is of the essence as the team gets prepared to race. An agreement with Emirates Team New Zealand will allow the team to fast-track its preparation.
"Our plan is to sail the AC45 alone for about the first 10 days and then we’ll join Emirates Team New Zealand for some racing to have some real competition," Sirena said. "We have to use this time as well as possible. We’re starting from zero in the AC45 so we have to close the gap."
Sirena said Luna Rossa nearly has the sailing team in place, and introduced Chris Draper (previously with Team Korea), Francesco Bruni (a Luna Rossa stalwart), Matteo Plazzi (with Luna Rossa for three campaigns as well as with BMW ORACLE Racing for the last Cup on the giant trimaran) and Paul Campbell-James, who has been with the team during its winning season on the Extreme Sailing Series.
Raising the BAR
Ben Ainslie, among the most decorated Olympic sailors of all time, will be racing in the 2012-2013 America’s Cup World Series, with a view to developing his team into a full-fledged Cup challenger in the future.
Ainslie, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, will field his own AC World Series team—Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR)—before joining ORACLE Racing to help with their defense of the 34th America’s Cup in 2013.
"The goal today is to put together a team to test the waters of the America’s Cup with a view to coming in with a full challenge for the 35th America’s Cup," Ainslie said. "The AC World Series has proven to be a great event, which offers a lot to potential partners as well as to sailors like myself. The AC45s are exciting to watch and they’re extremely challenging to race. Without a doubt the racing is producing the best sailing footage for television that I’ve ever seen, so I think the AC World Series is providing something that sailors, the public and sponsors can all get behind."
The addition of BAR, as well as Luna Rossa Challenge, means two more elite-level teams are joining the America’s Cup World Series in 2012.
"Having quality sailors like Ben Ainslie take a look at the America’s Cup World Series and then feel inspired to say, ‘I want in. I’m going to start my own team so I can do this too,’ is a pretty nice endorsement of what we’ve been working on for the past 18 months," said Regatta Director Iain Murray. "With Luna Rossa Challenge joining us in April and then Ben Ainslie Racing coming aboard later in the summer, the competition is only getting stronger and the racing will be that much closer and exciting because of it."
Ben Ainslie (seated at right), four-time Olympic medallist, pictured with Russell Coutts, head of Oracle Racing and current holder of the America’s Cup. Presented by Annabel Croft in central London as he launches Ben Ainslie Racing, a new team that will compete in 2012 America’s Cup World Series. Photo ©Lloyd Images/BAR
