As the third team to join the field for the 38th America’s Cup, the La Roche-Posay Racing Team launched its AC75 racing yacht – sporting a new look, with a new sponsor and sending a clear message to the international competition. This relaunch in Lorient is not only a technical milestone, but also a historic moment for French sailing.
A first for France
For a long time, France was merely a spectator on the grand stage of the America’s Cup. Now the country is making sporting history: for the first time ever, an AC75 has been launched and sailed on French soil. What’s more – for the first time in the history of the America’s Cup, a French challenger is taking part in two consecutive campaigns, competing against the world’s best teams.
The boat now bears the distinctive colours of its title sponsor: a bright azure blue and white. Three months after La Roche-Posay became the main sponsor, the new design was unveiled in Lorient. Stephan Kandler, founder and CEO of K-Challenge, sums up the significance of the moment: "Seeing our AC75 on French waters for the first time is a highlight for the whole team. This new beginning marks the culmination of months of work in Lorient – by our sailors, engineers, technicians and all our partners."
A well-known boat – radically transformed
The rules of the 38th America’s Cup require teams to, which were already featured in the previous issue, to build upon the existing hull. The challenge, therefore, was not to design a new boat, but to adapt the 2024 model within a radically revised technical framework. The main hull remains the same – but much of what enables the AC75 to sail, foil and be steered had to be reimagined.
Antoine Carraz, Technical Director of the La Roche-Posay Racing Team, explains: “From the outside, the audience will recognise the 2024 boat. But technically speaking, this is not merely a refit. We had to completely rethink the internal architecture and the way the crew interacts with the boat. The challenge was to transform the boat from the ground up whilst retaining its original platform.”
Deck layout, cockpits, weight distribution, steering systems, electrical and hydraulic systems, and crew ergonomics – all of these have been revised to comply with the new regulations.
From eight to five: a new line-up on board the AC75
The most striking change concerns the crew. There were still eight sailors on board in Barcelona. In Naples, there will be just five – and at least one of them must be a woman.
This reduction involves far more than simply cutting three roles. It requires a complete reallocation of tasks, a review of the crew’s positioning, and makes every function more accessible, faster and more intuitive. The helm and cockpits have therefore been extensively redesigned. Every crew member must have immediate access to the information required for steering, trimming and flight control of the AC75.
"Going from eight to five crew members changes everything: ergonomics, communication, the division of tasks and the control systems", Carraz emphasises. “With fewer people on board, every action has to be simpler, more direct and perfectly coordinated. We’ve worked to ensure that the boat remains extremely high-performance without becoming more complicated for the crew to operate.”
Another new feature: a sixth cockpit is planned, which will accommodate a guest during training and races – without the guest being able to interfere with the controls. This innovation is unique in sailing: a guest can experience the race action up close, right in the thick of it and in real time.
Legs made of batteries
In the 37th America’s Cup, four sailors – known as ‘cyclors’ – pedalled to generate the hydraulic power needed to trim the sails. This solution has been completely phased out in the new edition. Power is now mainly supplied by batteries, which requires a complete overhaul of the electrical and hydraulic systems.
"The disappearance of the Cyclors is a fundamental development", says Carraz. “In the past, part of the performance depended directly on the sailors’ ability to generate energy. Now we have to manage a certain amount of energy on board: storing it, distributing it and using it at the right time with the greatest possible efficiency.”
Just as with an electric racing car, every bit of energy used must be carefully calculated. The engineers are therefore working intensively on battery management, cooling and system reliability. “We don’t just want to have plenty of power at our disposal. Above all, we want to avoid wasting it. A few seconds of operation, a manoeuvre or a setting that is repeated dozens of times can have a significant impact on a race’s energy balance.”, according to Carraz.
A flying computer – controlled by people
The AC75 processes thousands of data points in real time: speed, height above the water, forces on the rigging, sail positions, hydraulic pressure and energy consumption. This data enables the sailors to understand the boat’s behaviour and manoeuvre with extreme precision – yet an autopilot is not permitted. The rules stipulate that decisions must remain in human hands.
“The aim is not to replace the sailor with a computer. It’s about providing the sailor with the right information at the right time and ensuring that their command is carried out immediately. At these speeds, a poorly positioned switch or a confusing display can prove very costly.”, explains Carraz.
The boat must therefore overcome a paradox: becoming ever more technically sophisticated, whilst remaining easy to operate at speeds of up to 100 km/h – amidst noise, vibrations and the intense pressure of high-performance driving.
Performance lies in the details
As the hull remains largely unchanged, the technical competition is shifting to areas that are less visible to the public: foils, rudders, sails, steering systems and the aerodynamics of the deck and cockpits.
The foils will play a key role in this. Their shape, stiffness and ability to maintain the boat at a stable flight altitude directly influence its speed. The configuration demonstrated during the initial test runs does not necessarily have to be the one used in Naples – development will continue throughout the campaign.
“The first launch does not represent a final configuration. It gives us a working basis. We will measure, compare, understand and refine the boat step by step. In the America’s Cup, performance rarely stems from a single big idea. It results from hundreds of details that ultimately work together.”, according to the team’s technical director.
From the simulator to the water
Before the first test run, much of the work was carried out using digital tools: 3D modelling, structural calculations, flow simulations, system analyses and test bench trials. However, no model can fully capture the complexity of an AC75 under sail. The initial tests therefore provide an opportunity to compare the engineers’ assumptions with reality.
The initial priorities are safety and reliability: system behaviour, energy consumption, temperatures, communication between components, and the crew’s ability to operate their new stations. “During the first test runs, we’re not aiming for top speed straight away. We’re taking it step by step. We need to ensure that all systems are working as expected before we gradually increase the load. Full power can only be utilised once the boat is reliable and fully understood by those sailing it.", explains Carraz.
Every training sail generates a considerable amount of data, which is analysed by engineers on shore and cross-checked against feedback from the crew. This continuous cycle of sailing, analysis and refinement will form the core of the technical programme in the coming months.
The roadmap to Naples 2027
With the resumption of sailing training, a new phase of the campaign begins for the La Roche-Posay Racing Team. The programme for 2026 initially includes training phases in Lorient (29 June to 17 July and 1 to 14 August), before the team moves to Naples in mid-August. There, the schedule includes a pre-season regatta in the AC40 class at the end of September, followed by the official start of sailing operations in October in the host city of the 38th America’s Cup. Furthermore, the final member of the core crew will be announced shortly.
Martin Hager
Editor in Chief YACHT
