America's Cup: Not without the defenders - Louis Vuitton Cup with the fox in the henhouse
Tatjana Pokorny
· 29.08.2024
The topic polarises the Cup world, the sailing racing teams, observers and fans: the challenger series for the 37th America's Cup begins today off Barcelona. The Louis Vuitton Cup starts with two round robin rounds. Each team will compete twice against each other. At the end, the weakest of the five challengers has to pack their bags. The four best challengers move on to the semi-finals and decide among themselves who will fight in the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup for the right to challenge the Kiwis in the 37th America's Cup match from 12 October.
Hot topic of discussion: the Kiwis in the Louis Vuitton Cup
The fact that New Zealand's Cup defenders are involved in the two round-robin rounds has given rise to much discussion. Although they do not collect any points themselves, they can study their upcoming opponents thoroughly. "I don't want to say that results are being manipulated in any way, but it is possible," Ineos Britannia's CEO and skipper Sir Ben Ainslie stated at the last skipper press conference in Barcelona the day before.
At the same time, the four-time Olympic champion, who with his team Ineos Britannia is the "Challenger of Record" negotiating partner of the Kiwis on the challengers' side, explained: "The participation of the Challenger is much discussed by the challenging teams. The teams think they might be strong. So why should they compete against the defenders and show that they are strong? Others say: Maybe we can learn something from the defenders. In the end, if you want to have practice races, you can't have them without defenders. Because they organise the event."
In the end, what was agreed is fair." Sir Ben Ainslie
Ben Ainslie expanded on the hottest topic in Barcelona: "There have been defender series in the distant past. There were multiple defenders. That was the defender's way of racing. And that was very exciting. Then they didn't sail until the final. But in recent history, there were no defender eliminations. That's why it was agreed that the defender would get a certain amount of racing. I think in the end what was agreed is fair."
Challengers and defenders learn from each other
The "Britannia" skipper provided the reason for his assessment during his third Cup chase under the British flag: "Of course, taking part gives the Kiwis the opportunity to check out the challengers. But from a challenger's point of view, it also gives us a great opportunity to learn. The Kiwis have ultimately won the event. So we probably learn more from them than they do from us."
In a personal commentary, America's Cup veteran and North Sails President Ken Read wrote down his opinion on the subject. The American began by stating: "In my long ago America's Cup days, there was an unwritten law that NOBODY trained WITH THE DEFENDERS. Those were the 'all challengers against the defender' days. Full stop."
The Kiwis are preparing the whole team for the match much more effectively than they did in their last campaign." Ken Read
Ken Read continues with his observations of the current Cup edition, "The Kiwis have designed the schedule to not only hone their racing skills, but to know exactly where the challengers stand in terms of performance. Not only were the Kiwis able to show what they want at the pre-regatta last week, but they can also show what they want at the two round robins. And they don't have to show anything they don't want to, because technically they're not sailing for points. They'll be in the America's Cup final no matter what. They're testing against their would-be opponent."
The timetable favours the defenders
Kiwi skipper Peter Burling naturally put the situation into perspective, admitting at the press conference: "Ben summarised it well. There are positives and negatives associated with it. In Auckland (ed.: at the last America's Cup) we took part in the pre-regatta, the Christmas regatta, practice races and media days. To be honest: I think it's great for the event to see every team racing against each other. It helps to build the tension. The races at the pre-regatta were great, especially on Sunday. Hopefully there will be more exciting races like this."
However, the Kiwis' initial participation in the Louis Vuitton Cup has also put them in a luxury situation. They can examine and analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the challengers in the direct duels in detail and, if necessary, find answers to them. While the most promising challengers will continue to face intense challenges in the semi-finals and final after the opening round robin phase of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the New Zealanders will have plenty of time to optimise their boat in the regatta-free phase following their round robin participation.
Our time is now." Tom Slingsby
Tom Slingsby, 2013 America's Cup winner with BMW Orcale Racing, Laser Olympic champion, long-time SailGP dominator and current helmsman for US challenger NYYC American Magic, said: "Team New Zealand has a month and a half after the round robins before the race (ed.: the 37th America's Cup match) starts for them. They can still bring in new components. They can make changes that take time. They have that option, especially after they've seen us all sail. That's nice to have. We don't have that. Our time is now."
Ken Read also points out the demanding schedule of the challenger round in his observations: "The schedule is quite interesting for the other teams. The pre-regatta has just finished. The challengers don't have time to completely reconfigure themselves. They can't dabble too much when it comes to setting a steady pace. They need to be able to hit the ground running, because from now on these races count." From now on, every point counts.
Risk or advantage for the challengers?
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's helmsman Jimmy Spithill is also well aware of this. When asked whether it makes sense to show the defenders all their cards at the start of the challenger round, he says: "Of course, that's definitely the risk for all the challengers here. We're racing for survival here. Team New Zealand is not doing that. They actually get a massive advantage by participating. But at the same time you get to sail against the team that is the benchmark in the America's Cup. So it's a two-way street."
Ken Read finds it "shocking" that one of the challengers will be eliminated in just a few weeks: "After the end of the double round robin on 8 September, one team will go home." Ken Read addresses his readers directly and emotionally: "Think about this for a minute: a team that has invested millions of dollars and countless hours (and dreams) into their fight for the cup will already be out of the running by then. My heart breaks just thinking about it."
In his initial review, Ken Read also found an attractive perspective on the 37th America's Cup: "In summary, each team had the task of designing the fastest boat for the most diverse conditions, creating a complete and organised plan, constantly working on improvements within a tight schedule and developing the best team. Both on the water and on land."
The first team is eliminated on 8 September
Ken Read's appeal to the Cup teams: "Remember that reliability is the key. Don't suffer a major setback, because time is your greatest asset. And don't forget - all great sailing teams need a bit of luck from time to time. Hmmm, come to think of it - that sounds like the ingredients for success in any sailboat race, doesn't it?"
The Louis Vuitton Cup begins on 29 August at 2 pm with the first four duels: France's "Orient Express" meets Alinghi Red Bull Racing's "BoatOne". Italy's Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team will take on the Kiwi rocket "Taihoro". Ineos Britannia takes on NYYC American Magic, before the "Orient Express" and "Luna Rossa" are challenged once again in the fourth and final duel. The double round-robin round will continue with a short two-day (5 and 6 September) until 8 September.
The four challengers with the highest scores advance to the semi-finals. As is tradition, the best challenger is allowed to choose their own semi-final opponent. If you would like to follow the races on screen, you can here to the selection options. Whether original broadcasts in English or live programmes with commentary in German - there is a wide range on offer. The programmes always start at 2 pm.
