Time is running out for the German America's Cup challenger. The deadline is 1 April. If the financing is not in place by then, the ambitious project could be at an end. A sponsor is missing.
Michael Illbruck, head of the Leverkusen-based company group of the same name, whose Volvo Ocean Race syndicate is currently leading in the Southern Ocean and in the overall standings, struck a major blow yesterday. The Cup boat currently under construction was presented to the assembled press in Bremen-Vegesack on the former site of the Vulkan shipyard. A novelty in recent Cup history, where other syndicates invest huge sums in protection against espionage. But the German syndicate needs headlines, positive ones, and wanted to show how far they have already come in their Cup preparations. And that is something to be proud of and, according to Michael Illbruck, "a historic achievement for Germany". In fact, never before has such a high standard of boat building been achieved in Germany, because an America's Cup is at the forefront of yacht evolution and can only tolerate tolerances of a hundredth to a thousandth of a per cent.
The black carbon fibre hull, which is around 24 metres long and only 3.50 metres wide, lies like a beached whale in a huge factory hall. People in white T-shirts with the illbruck logo are scurrying around everywhere, almost like a small army. The first impressions: Very straight boat sides, as with most of the boats in the last Cup, and the so-called hermaphrodite bow of the winners Team New Zealand, recognisable by the double kink in the keel line. It's no secret that the design was copied: "Once you start researching in this direction, you automatically end up with this shape due to the measurement limits," says Torsten Conradi from the design team. 13,000 boatbuilding hours have been invested in the hull so far, and it should be ready on 15 April, "regardless of what happens with the funding", says Illbruck. According to the calculations, the boat will be faster than the last Cup winner, but the speed gains for these almost fully developed racers are in the region of less than one per cent.
Whether the boat can prove its potential is questionable. Mike Illbruck's ambitious goal is still to "win the Cup". However, not the upcoming 31st, but the 32nd Cup. This Cup was planned from the beginning as a test run, as preparation. But now the money is missing. The campaign will cost a total of 15 to 18 million euros, of which the illbruck Group will only cover a small part. "We've reached the limit," says Mike Illbruck, "we can't and don't want to finance this alone. I also have a responsibility to a family business."
A main sponsor or a maximum of three partial sponsors are being sought, and a sale of the entire project cannot be ruled out. After the unsuccessful search by a marketing agency, Illbruck now wants to "take care of it personally". Should he fail, this could mean the end of the entire project.
Even without the financial difficulties, this year's elimination would be hard enough for the team. The boat is based solely on computer calculations and towing tank tests, will not float until the summer and, as no other, older boats have been purchased and no other boat is being built, cannot be optimised through comparison trips on the water. In addition, the entire crew will only be able to train after the end of the Volvo Ocean Race and a subsequent rest period, so they will only have a good two months of preparation before the start of the competitions on 1 October. Other teams, on the other hand, will have been training with two older boats and two new builds without a break since the last Cup and, above all, for a long time on the Cup course.
Bad conditions for an elimination that is tougher than ever. Because unlike in the last Cup, the teams cannot gradually improve. Two rounds will be sailed against each other until the end of October, with the two teams with the lowest points being eliminated. Nobody can afford to have a weak start.
For the time being, however, the illbruck project's goal is to make it to Auckland. "It can't be true that Germany can't get this thing to New Zealand," says the boss. For him, it has become a question of honour: "It would be a great disappointment in front of my crew, who are doing an outstanding job and are working their arms and legs off."
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
